黑洞社区

The UK business of contractor Skanska has seen pre-tax profit for the year to the end of 2007 slip despite a surge in turnover by 44% to 拢1.3bn.

The company said its pre-tax profit of 拢32.9m was down 7% from 拢35.5m in 2006. It claimed profit would have risen 鈥渋n line with sales鈥� had it not been hit by problems with three unnamed projects.

UK chief executive David Fison said: 鈥�2007 was an interesting year with sales growing over 40 per cent and profit remaining flat. Clearly I would have liked profit to rise in line with sales and but for three projects they would have. We鈥檝e got to put that right in the future.

鈥淥therwise we are firing on all cylinders and I鈥檓 immensely proud of the way my people have managed our growth.鈥�

Earlier today Skanska鈥檚 overall chief executive Stuart Graham told reporters that sales in 2008 would be 鈥減retty good鈥� across the business which posted a 42 per cent growth in pre tax profit to $268m. Graham added that he was confident the costs of the problems in the UK had been fully accounted for.

According to tables compiled for 黑洞社区, Skanska won the seventh-highest value of work in 2007 at 拢1.468bn.

Skanska recently won the contract to build the 拢242m contract to build the Heron Tower in the capital and is building the 拢150m Walbrook mixed-use scheme in the City of London.