Quality beats quantity

Owing to large negative one-time effects and the COVID-19 pandemic, Division Civil Engineering posted a reported EBITDA of CHF -101.2 million (2019: CHF 77.2 million). The order book was also down on the previous year's amount, but thanks to Value Assurance it was of higher quality.

Result impacted by COVID-19 and negative one-time effects

The order book decreased to CHF 3,183 million (2019: CHF 3,613 million), but was of improved quality. Division revenue declined to CHF 2,013 million (2019: CHF 2,300 million). The main reason for both effects was lower market volume because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reinforced by more selective project acquisition and the shift from volume to margin oriented growth. This led to an underlying performance at EBITDA level of CHF 48.3 million (incl. COVID-19 impact of CHF ~ -26 million). Negative one-time effects of write-downs and re-evaluations amounting to CHF -131.3 million, plus restructuring provisions of CHF -18.2 million, resulted in reported EBITDA of CHF -101.2 million (2019: CHF 77.2 million).
Important project acquisitions included the A7 Altona Tunnel in Hamburg, modernisation of the Waldenburgerbahn in Canton Baselland, the northern tunnel of on the Gotthard, the U81 Stadtbahn railway line connecting the city of Düsseldorf to its airport, and the Cholfirst Tunnel in Schaffhausen.

Reorientation progressing as planned

With Division Civil Engineering, we are positioning ourselves as experts in complex infrastructure projects in our core markets of Switzerland and Germany, and as experts for tunnelling and associated infrastructure projects in other markets. We are also expanding our planning, engineering and project management capabilities. When managing complex large-scale projects, we are increasingly using partnership-based contractual models wherever we can, because these allow customers to involve us in preparatory planning and consultancy activities at an earlier stage. In addition, we are reducing our own implementation capacities in all markets. Outsourcing of yards and equipment was started last year, as was the ramp-down of our Civil sub-units in Norway and Sweden. We will also ramp down the Civil units in Austria and Romania as soon as all contractual obligations are fulfilled.
The market outlook for Division Civil Engineering is positive, particularly because of the economic stimulus packages expected in Europe and the need for investment in infrastructure expansion and renewal.
You can read more about our Civil Engineering projects in  Insight Expertise in complex infrastructure.

Division Civil Engineering

encompasses tunnel construction, special foundations and Implenia’s regional business including road construction and civil engineering. The division’s aim is to develop its leading international engineering expertise further in order to take full advantage of the mobility and infrastructure investment megatrends. The division’s range of services extends from the development of specific one-off solutions to the integrated management of complex major projects. Implenia has a leading position in these areas of business in Switzerland, and a recognised presence in its other markets.