Merko CEO: Baltic Construction to Stagnate in Coming Years
Andres Trink, CEO of Merko, one of the biggest builders in the Baltics, said that the Baltic construction market is not projected to see much additional growth in the next few years.
Trink said public procurements are temporarily more scarce due to the end of the EU financial period, reported uudised.err.ee. Meanwhile, private demand for major development projects has increased, but slowly, he said.
"At the same time, intense competition in the construction sector is pressuring profit margins," Trink said.
"The Baltic countries' apartment market, chiefly in the capital cities, has seen positive development, and we believe we will continue to see reasonable growth and rising prices in transaction activity," Trink said.
On Tuesday, Merko reported earnings last year of 249 million euros, with a profit of 7.6 million euros. Merko's executive board proposed to pay shareholders 5.31 million euros in dividends, at 30 cents per share.
If the payout is endorsed, the company's retained earnings for 2012 will be 98.9 million euros. The company aims to boost dividends to 50-70 percent of profits by 2018.