A lower level of activity for contracting activities affected margins, but the order book remains solid, says the company.
Consolidated sales in the year ended 31 December 2015 came to €13.9bn (£11bn), down slightly year-on-year (by 0.6% on a reported basis and by 1.3% like-for-like), in line with expectations.
There was growth in activity in the European subsidiaries - especially in Spain (+20.7%) and Poland (+18.0%) . This together with recent developments in Canada and Colombia fuelled growth in the group’s international operations (+8.9% to €2.62bn).
In France, sales were €8.85bn, down 3.9%. The construction division was down -8.1% to €2.79bn and infrastructure fell 7.7% to €3.22bn), due to factors including lower public sector orders for the roads business and reduced activity on the Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high-speed rail project.
At the concessions division, there was growth in motorway traffic, with a rise of 2.7% for the APRR network, 4.9% for the A65 motorway, 1.7% for the Millau viaduct and 14.0% for the Autoroute de l’Avenir in Senegal. The activity generated by other concessions and public-private partnerships paved the way for an increase in sales, up 2.7% to €2.44bn.
The operating margin of contracting activities declined to 3% (from 3.3% in 2014).
In the construction division, the reduced level of activity in France is responsible for the decline in the operating margin to 3.9% (from 4.2% in 2014). For infrastructure, there was extensive reorganisation in the Metallic Construction business and the decline in the roads business also weighed on the operating margin, which declined to 1.7% (from 2.4% in 2014).
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