International consulting group COWI emerged stronger from the first half of 2013, demon-strating increased earnings and growth in core markets.
In the first half of 2013, COWI saw considerable growth. With a turnover of DKK 2,667 million and an operating profit (EBIT) of DKK 145 million, COWI presents the best half-year result ever.
• Net turnover: DKK 2,667 million (+7%)
• Operating profit (EBIT): DKK 145 million (+236%)
• Period result after tax: DKK 91 million (339%)
“Our strong result is a clear sign that COWI is back on track, taking an even stronger position. We are seeing growth in Scandinavia and North America, and our core business continues to grow and develop. The result also demonstrates that the effect of COWI’s strategic measures and restructuring is really coming through, and that these changes have become integrated in our procedures,” says COWI’s President, CEO, Lars-Peter Søbye.
COWI is investing in the future
The strong result was secured at a time when COWI landed a number of strategically im-portant projects, such as the electrification of the Danish rail network for Rail Net Denmark, the design of tunnel and subway stations for the new Doha Metro Red Line North, two cable-stayed bridges totalling 11,575 metres for the WHDS (western high-speed diameter) motorway project in St Petersburg, and an evaluation for the European Commission on the implementation of the EU Directive on health and safety at work.
“Many of the projects that COWI won in the first six months really stress the width of COWI’s consultancy services. The electrification of the Danish rail network and the Red Line are unique possibilities for COWI to further develop our competencies and increase our expertise in transport and infrastructure. COWI already has a strong position in Denmark and our other core markets, and the new contracts will further increase our market shares,” explains Lars-Peter Søbye.
Two major strategic investments were made as COWI acquired Norwegian consulting company Aquateam, which is specialised in water and environment, and the Danish engineering department in the Swedish company Vattenfall, which specialises in power plants and green conversion of CHP stations.
”The acquisition of Vattenfall’s Danish engineering department puts COWI among the leading consultants in Scandinavia in sustainable production of electricity and heating, thereby sup-porting COWI’s vision to be an international player in green conversion,” continues Lars-Peter Søbye.
Expectations for the rest of 2013
Having a solid order log and business growth in core markets, COWI believes that great opportunities lie ahead in 2013 and the years to come.
“We are pleased to deliver a strong result for the first half of 2013. There is no doubt that our PowerHouse 2015 strategy is really kicking in. Increased focus on cost control combined with higher turnover and growth in all of our markets have resulted in higher earnings. In spite of the good results, we still have a way to go to achieve our long-term 2015 targets, and hard work lies ahead.
The world offers an increasing number of exciting and diverse projects, and it is great to see the growth engine spinning again in our core markets. As a consequence, we have positive expectations for the rest of this year,” concludes Lars-Peter Søbye.
Key figures for the first half of 2013
• Net turnover: DKK 2,667 million (+7%)
• Operating profit (EBIT): DKK 145 million (+236%)
• Profit before tax: DKK 144 million (297%)
• Period result: DKK 91 million (339%)
Source: COWI
• EBIT margin: up from 1.7% to 5.5 %.