VINCI - 2005 annual report

CONSTRUCTION / ACTIVITY
The megacutter
Equipped with a an 8,000 HP cutting machine
capable of slicing through materials harder
than concrete, this dredger, baptised
D’Artagnan, is the most powerful of its kind
in the world (total power: 38,000 HP).
The building
segment, across
all countries, posts
the strongest
growth within
VINCI Construction.
90
VINCI 2005 ANNUAL REPORT
In specialised civil engineering, Freyssinet, which is ahead of schedule in its
profi tability improvement plan, recorded operating profi tability from ordinary
activities of 4.1%, while revenue continued to climb steeply (+10.6% to €508
million). In the United States, the acquisition of the assets of the Foster company
consolidated its position in soil stabilisation techniques.
In the dredging business lines, DEME continued its expansion on a buoyant
market, taking part in Qatar in the creation of the Pearl of the Gulf artifi cial island,
one of the largest projects of this type in the world. The acquisition
of a “megacutter” suction dredger able to cut through rocky soils at a depth
of 36 metres and stepped-up synergies with the various VINCI Construction
entities should help accelerate its expansion and consolidate its world leadership
positions.
Building
Driven by strong demand, the private-sector building
segment across all countries posted a 21% increase,
with revenues standing at €4.5 billion. This is the strongest growth within
VINCI Construction.
OFFICE BUILDINGS AND PRIVATE-SECTOR BUILDING. Activity growth
was particularly strong in construction and renovation of offi ce buildings
(+101%). In France, major projects completed or under way in this segment
included renovation of a 30,000 sq. metre four-building offi ce and retail
complex in the Place Vendôme in Paris and the construction of the 36 storey,
68,000 sq. metre Granite tower in the La Défense business district, a project
which VINCI is co-developing with Nexity and in which four VINCI
Construction companies are performing the structural work and VINCI
Energies is also participating. Other highlights of 2005 were the construction
of the Casino Group’s headquarters in Saint Etienne in central France and,
outside France, construction of a new building for the European Investment
Bank in Luxembourg (see opposite) and the Palac Tesnov building in Prague,
in the Czech Republic, a complex comprising 14,000 sq. metres of offi ce
and 4,000 sq. metres of retail space.
Business was also brisk in the other private-sector market segments:
luxury shops (LVMH and Cartier in Paris); large hotels (Mariott in Colombes,
Radisson in Marseilles and Novotel in Monaco; City Inn in Manchester,
in the United Kingdom, and Ibis in Prague, in the Czech Republic);
industrial and logistics buildings (new 200,000 sq. metre Miko sites in
France, 95,000 sq. metre Gillette site in Poland and ProLogis Developments
site in the United Kingdom); shopping centres built under project structuring
contracts (74,000 sq. metre Raduga project in Saint Petersburg, Russia; Feeria
in Bucharest, Rumania); private-sector and public housing (large number
of projects under way in mainland France, the former French overseas
territories, Belgium and, in Poland, the 1,500 housing units of the Marina
Mokotów project).
PUBLIC FACILITIES. Activity in the public facility segment was similarly
diverse. Administrative building construction in France included the Hôtel
de Région regional administrative building in Lille and the courthouse
in Toulouse as well as recreation and culture facilities: the theatre in Arras,