Facing problems in Poland, Swedish contracting giant Skanska today issued a profit warning and said it will lay off 3,000 staff and restructure its business.
Shares in the company, which have lost about a fifth of their value in the past year, fell a further 6% in early trading.
Most of the restructuring will take place in Europe, particularly Poland, which is the main source of the company’s problems.
There, Skanska recently made a €40m writedown on problem projects, the company’s new chief executive Anders Danielsson told analysts this morning.
One of Skanska’s Polish projects was the High5ive office development in Krakow (pictured).Â
As well as restructuring, Skanska will leave the power sector in the US, focus on the core business in the UK, and “continue to adapt to tougher market conditions in the Czech Republic”, the company said in a statement today.
Although it said its business in the Nordic countries was “delivering strong profits”, it said it would reduce its exposure to the “thin” European market and look to increase its business in the US.
The restructuring is expected to cost the company about €200m starting in the fourth quarter of last year.
It expects to save about €100m a year from the reduction in head count. It added that, based on full-year financial results, its board proposed to maintain its dividend of SEK 8.25 (€0.84) per share.
Danielsson took over from long-serving chief executive Johan Karlström in September last year. Karlström will remain on the payroll in an advisory capacity until January 2019.
Skanska is ranked as the 17th largest contractor in the world by Engineering News-Record.
Image: One of Skanska’s Polish projects was the High5ive office development in Krakow (High5)
Further reading:
