SKANSKA

Skanska



Skanska

Introduction

Skanska is a construction company mainly engaged in development of commercial and residential projects. The company primarily operates in Scandinavia, Baltic and Nordic regions, Central Europe, the UK, the US, and Latin America. It is headquartered in Solna, Sweden and employs about 56,482 people.

The company secured an alliance contract to replace 3,200 kilometers of gas distribution mains in the North London area in early 2005. The Skanska portion of the joint ventures section of the contract was valued at £400 million, of which Skanskas share was approximately 50%. Later in the year, the company won a SEK1 billion (approximately $135.9 million) contract to design and construct two bridges in Florida. In the same year, it received a contract for constructing Finnish highway on a public-private partnership basis. Following that, it secured a construction contract for a public-private hospital project in the UK.

In 2006, Skanska secured a large reconstruction project in World Trade Center area. In the same year, Skanska received an order to construct Pragues Ri ring road and a highway in the Czech Republic. It also secured financial closure for the UKs biggest hospital improvement scheme involving both Barts and the London Hospitals. Skanska sold its Budejovicka Alej property in Prague to ING Management for 5EK341 million (approximately $49.8 million).

The company recorded revenues of 5EK143,674 million ($22,066.9 million) during the financial year ended December 2008 (FY2008), an increase of 3.5% over FY2007. The operating profit of the company was SEK4,086 million ($627.6 million) during FY2008, a decrease of 24.4% compared to FY2007. The net profit was SEK3,102 million ($476.4 million) in FY2008, a decrease of 24.3% compared to FY2007.

Background

Skanska was established as Skanska Cementgjuteriet in 1887 as a manufacturer of cement products. Soon after, the company expanded its business operations into construction. In 1965, the company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Skanska Cementgjuteriet renamed itself as Skanska in 1984.

Inorganic growth through acquisitions has always been a key strategy of Skanska in order to facilitate easy access to new markets. In line with this strategy, Skanskas German subsidiary H Essmann acquired eRWA, Beikirch and STG Sicherheitsteknik. In 1998, the companys Norwegian subsidiary acquired 67% of the shares of Aadnoy. In the following year, Skanska acquired a 70% stake in Karl Steiner Holding. The companys Polish subsidiary acquired an 80% stake in the Polish construction company, Budexpol, in the same year. Later that year, Skanska acquired all the shares in Alex J Etkin and The Gottlieb Group.

Skanska acquired Selemer (Norway) in 2000 and also purchased a 75.2% stake in IPS, a Czech construction company. Two years later, the company completed the acquisition of the Yeager Construction Company, a civil engineering firm based in southern California. Skanska obtained a 75% stake in Exbud in the same year.

The company sold its construction operations in Latvia in 2003 while acquiring employee-owned BFW Construction Company in Texas in the same year. In the same year, Skanska Services acquired Marieholms Industrirengoring (MIAB).

Skanska sold its subsidiary, Skanska Whessoe, to the Al Rushaid Group in ...