Today the Board of Per Aarsleff A/S has discussed and approved the Quarterly Report of the Company covering the first quarter of the financial year 2003/2004.

The quarterly result before tax came to DKK 19.3 million compared to DKK 34.1 million over the same period last year.

This corresponds to expectations and supports the forecast expressed by the management regarding a profit for the year at DKK 40 million before tax.

Group revenue was DKK 754 million against DKK 861 million last year. Exports including shares from associates amount to DKK 314 million compared to DKK 268 million last year. 

This tendency substantiates the outlook for a slightly decreasing level of activity in this financial year compared to the previous financial year.

Construction contributes a quarterly result at DKK 4 million before interest against DKK 17 million last year. Revenue for the quarter came to DKK 446 million compared to DKK 570 million last year. As expected the market is characterised by a lack of major projects and thus a lower level of activity. The result lives up to expectations.

Pipe Technologies contributes a result before interest at DKK 12 million against DKK 16 million in the same period of the previous year. The result is marked by a high level of activity within the municipal sector in Denmark and a steady growth on the rest of the European market. The export of projects is somewhat smaller than for the corresponding period of last year. In total, Pipe Technologies contributes a quarterly result slightly more positive than forecasted.

Piling produced a quarterly result before interest at DKK 7 million against DKK 5 million for the corresponding quarter of last year.

A Danish market characterised by some reluctance and continuously difficult conditions on the German market are counterbalanced by the income from a major export project in Kazakhstan, improved results in Poland and a continued positive profit development in our English subsidiary. The total result obtained by Piling is as expected.

The cash flows from operating activities with deduction of investments reached a positive DKK 49 million for the first quarter of the financial year, which is above expectations.