Strabag Romania, the local construction market leader, recorded a turnover increase of 33% in the first six months of the year, reaching 93.8 million euro, while the order backlog of the company has reached 495 million euro. In the first semester, Strabag contracted A3 motorway construction works (10.1 km) between Ungheni and Ogra. The project is worth 70 million euro. However, Strabag builds the structure of the biggest orthodox cathedral in Romania - Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului, as well as the railroad Vinţu de Jos - Simeria. At the end of June 2015, the construction company employed 1,254 workers in Romania, their number being down by 5% compared to mid 2014.
Interview with Thomas Birtel (41 years old), CEO of Strabag SE.
- Please review the financial evolution of the company in 2015.
- The statistics show that the construction industry registered an increase of 18% in February 2015 over the same period in 2014, confirming the growth trend. In January-March, the construction volume increased by 15% compared to 2014, adjusted to the number of working days and seasonality. With only 8.9 billion euro in 2014, the construction industry in Romania had reached its seven-year-low. Strabag registered this development in its own numbers: the volume of our order backlog had already grown significantly in 2014 by 62%, to about 500 million euro. This level was sustained also in 2015. The output volume grew from 71 million euro after six months in 2014 to 94 million euro in the first half of 2015. The construction industry in the infrastructure sector is highly influenced by the public clients and the availability of funds. Knowing that Romania is in need of significant investments into road infrastructure and that the transport master plan shows that the government is having a focus on developments in infrastructure, we expect that in the coming years new projects will be published for tender and awarded to serious contractors under a stabilized political environment and improved budgetary situation.
- What could you tell about your company activity in Romania?
- The group has subsidiaries in all important construction regions of Romania. We are operating in all construction sectors, particularly in transportation infrastructures, building construction and civil engineering. For several years now, we also engage in the PPP market as well as in railway structures. In May 2015, Strabag SRL has been awarded the contract to build the country's A3 motorway between Ungheni and Ogra. The 10.1 km section has a gross contract value of 70 million euro (approximately 311 million lei). Also in 2015, Strabag entered the Romanian project development market by taking over the development team of Raiffeisen Evolution in Bucharest.
- What are your future plans of development in Romania?
- The economic perspective for Romania looks rather favorable compared to regional peers. We see a positive market potential. In Romania, Strabag is a local player and thus, we will continue our activities and hope that the country will further conduct investments to expand its road infrastructure. We see that an existing and well-working infrastructure is the key to a sustainable development of the country's economy. Therefore, we will continue to participate in road infrastructure tenders. The most important factor is our employees. Our aim is to guarantee their occupation and continuous remuneration. Therefore, we settle our accounts in time and expect the same from our partners and clients. Moreover, Strabag intends to grow organically via the acquisition of construction projects but there is no plan to take over further teams like in the Raiffeisen Evolution deal.
