Porr scores Libyan stadium order
A leading Austrian construction company has been assigned to build a 10-000-seat football stadium in Libya.Vienna-based Porr, Austrias third-biggest building firm, its Turkish cooperation partner Renaissance Group and Libyan Investment Development Company, were contracted to build the venue in the city of Tripoli, it was announced today (Mon).The assigned companies will rake in an overall 200 million Euros for the construction of the stadium which will be one of five venues in three Libyan cities at which the matches of the 2013 African Cup of Nations will take place.Porr praised the stadiums planned membrane roof construction an “architectural highlight”. The firm said it hoped the order will help it to get a foothold in the country and the whole region.Renaissance Group currently holds a 10.22 per cent interest in Porr which is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchanges (WBAG) standard market auction.Porr, which is headed by Karl-Heinz Strauss, had an average 11,560 employees in the first nine months of this year, down from 11,736 it had in the same period of 2009.Porrs earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) declined from 7.2 million Euros in the first half of last year to 6.9 million Euros in the first six months of 2010. Its turnover slid from 1.107 billion to 955 million Euros during the same time.The value of incoming assignments plunged by 18 per cent to 1.76 billion Euros year on year in the first three quarters of 2010, while the value of carried out building activity fell by 3.9 per cent to 2.04 billion Euros.Porr is Austrias third-strongest building company as far as turnover is regarded. Viennese rival Strabag SE topped the ranking created by magazine Solid earlier this year ahead of Salzburg-based Alpine Bau.