Construction group Eiffage announced on Wednesday a 10.7% rise in net profit to 392 million euros in the first half of 2023, compared with 354 million euros last year, and confirmed its earnings forecasts for the full year.
Eiffage reports a 10.4% rise in first-half sales and forecasts higher earnings in 2023
For 2023, the Group forecasts “a further increase in operating income from ordinary activities in construction and concessions, as well as in net income, Group share”, according to a press release issued on Wednesday evening. In the first half, Eiffage posted sales up 10.4% to 10.43 billion euros from 9.4 billion a year earlier.
The main growth driver was the 15.4% increase in sales in the “Energy Systems” branch, driven by the ecological and digital transition. In the infrastructure sector, it rose by 9.2%, and by 10.4% in the construction sector. Business in the construction division rose by 6.3%, and in airport concessions by 10.2%.
The group is building the largest data center for the American company Cloud HQ at Lisses in Essonne, and has just delivered the new interior lighting for the Mont Saint-Michel abbey, as well as the ACC electric battery plant at Billy Berclau Douvrin.
Eiffage maintains profitability despite market challenges and is betting on future acquisitions and the Nové contract with the French Ministry of Defense.
It was able to “maintain its profitability” in the construction sector “despite a complicated market”, said its CEO Benoît de Ruffray during a presentation of the results. “We’re going to suffer from the downturn in real estate”, added Mr. de Ruffray, “but we have momentum in other markets” he noted, citing in particular “increasingly important renovation projects” where margins are higher than in new construction, particularly in social housing, according to Eiffage.
“You need highly-developed technical skills to tackle these markets,” he stressed.
In the energy sector, the Group is planning further acquisitions and has “several projects under review”. Among its projects, Eiffage is contributing to the restoration of Notre Dame de Paris: power, heating, ventilation, plumbing and a safety generator, with the requirement that no cables be visible and that no stone be pierced. For the future, the Group is also counting on the Nové contract with the Ministry of Defense for the renovation, construction and management of housing, a 35-year contract that will generate nearly 1.5 billion euros for Eiffage construction.
