Group Management Report

Output volume and revenue

STRABAG SE generated output of € 8,905.19 million in the first half of 2025 – an increase of 7% compared to the previous year. Roughly half of this growth was attributable to the first-time consolidation of the Georgiou Group in Australia. The largest absolute increases in the company’s established markets were recorded in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. As expected, output declined in the United Kingdom – due to the ongoing completion of large-scale projects – and in Hungary, where EU funds remain frozen and public investment has stalled.

Consolidated revenue increased by 7% in line with output. The ratio of revenue to output stood at 89%, remaining virtually stable year-on-year.

Order backlog

The order backlog stood at € 28,366.22 million at the end of the first half of 2025 – 13% or € 3.2 billion higher than in the previous year. This strong increase reflects the successful project acquisitions made so far this year – especially in railway construction, energy infrastructure, high-tech buildings, and university and research facilities. In regional terms, the biggest growth in the order backlog was seen in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. As at the end of June 2025, Australia contributed around € 660 million to the total.

Financial performance

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 20% to € 430.81 million in the first half of 2025. In line with the investments made as part of Strategy 2030 and the increased asset base, depreciation on property, plant and equipment and amortisation of intangible assets rose 9% year-on-year to € 301.44 million. As a result, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was up 58% to € 129.37 million.

Improvements in earnings in the North + West segment and, in particular, in International + Special Divisions had a positive impact. Not least due to the higher proportion of transportation infrastructure projects, earnings in the South + East segment were again negative in the first half of the year.

Net interest income, while again positive at € 15.38 million, was down on the previous year’s figure (6M/2024: € 52.23 million). This development was mainly due to significantly lower deposit interest rates compared with last year. Although these led to lower but still very solid interest income, they reflect STRABAG SE’s continued strong liquidity position. On the other hand, exchange rate differences, amounting to € -13.04 million (6M/2024: € -5.54 million), had a greater impact on net interest income than in the previous year. Earnings before taxes (EBT) therefore came to € 144.75 million, significantly above the prior-year figure of € 134.15 million. Income taxes amounted to € -47.68 million (6M/2024: € -41.11 million), which is reflected in a slightly higher income tax rate of 33%. This results in net income of € 97.07 million, compared with € 93.04 million in the first half of 2024.

The earnings attributable to minority shareholders remained almost unchanged in absolute terms at € 2.18 million. Overall, net income after minorities of € 94.89 million was generated (6M/2024: € 91.51 million). With a higher weighted number of 115,442,905 shares outstanding in the first half of 2025, the earnings per share remained virtually stable at € 0.82 (6M/2024: € 0.84).

Financial position and cash flows

The balance sheet total increased slightly by 1% to € 14.9 billion compared with the end of 2024. As is usual for the season, contract assets and inventories rose, while cash and cash equivalents decreased in the first half of 2025. Goodwill and property, plant and equipment also increased as a result of company acquisitions.

Compared with 31 December 2024, the equity ratio declined from a high level of 34.1% to 32.4%. This is attributable to the distribution of the dividend for the 2024 financial year in the first half of 2025.

STRABAG continues to report a solid net cash position. Compared with the end of 2024, this figure decreased from € 2,905.25 million to € 1,868.00 million due to seasonal effects.

The cash flow from operating activities was less negative than in the previous year (6M/2024: € -415.00 million) at € -284.44 million. On the one hand, cash flow from earnings was higher, and on the other hand, the seasonal build-up of working capital – particularly in inventories and contract assets – was less pronounced in the first half of 2025.

Cash outflow for investments (cash flow from investing activities) was € -430.31 million – above the previous year’s figure of € -322.49 million as planned. This is primarily attributable to higher expenditure on enterprise acquisitions, on intangible assets, and on property, plant and equipment. The first half of 2025 included, among other things, the purchase price payment for the acquisition of Georgiou Group in Australia.

The cash flow from financing activities amounted to € -261.75 million in the first half of 2025 (6M/2024: € -299.76 million). Despite a higher dividend payment compared to the previous year, the cash outflow was lower. This is partly due to the fact that the previous year included the payment of the capital reduction to those free float shareholders who had opted for the cash option as part of the capital measures.

Capital expenditures

Particularly significant capital expenditures include maintenance expenditures at our permanent establishments in Germany, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. As for additional investments, priorities included equipment and machinery for rail construction and ground engineering in Germany. Regionally, additional investments were concentrated in Austria, Poland and Romania. The focus remains on the modernisation of the company’s plants and other facilities and on circular economy projects. In addition to € 349.13 million (6M/2024: € 305.98 million) for the acquisition of intangible assets and of property, plant and equipment, and for investment property – excluding non-cash additions to right-of-use assets from leases – investments also include € 20.77 million (6M/2024: € 12.84 million) for the acquisition of financial assets and changes in the scope of consolidation of € 119.05 million (6M/2024: € 57.26 million).

Employees

An average of 79,159 employees (FTE) were employed in the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 2% compared to the same period of the previous year. In addition to the growth resulting from the acquisition in Australia, staff numbers rose particularly in Poland, the Middle East and Germany. In contrast, the number of employees in the Americas declined with the progress of large-scale projects in that region.

Major transactions, risks and strategy

During the first six months of the financial year, there were no transactions with related parties which significantly influenced the financial situation or the business result nor were there any changes to transactions with related parties which were presented in the annual financial statements of 31 December 2024 and which significantly influenced the financial situation or business result of the first six months of the current financial year.

In the course of its entrepreneurial activities, the STRABAG Group is exposed to a number of risks, which can be identified and assessed using an active risk management system and dealt with by applying an appropriate risk policy. Among the most important risks are external risks such as cyclical fluctuations in the construction industry, operating and technical risks in the selection and execution of projects, IT risks, investment risks as well as financial, personnel, ethical, legal and political risks. Additional risks exist with regard to work safety, environmental protection, quality, business continuity and supply chain.

The risks are explained in more detail in the 2024 management report. A review of the current risk situation revealed that in the reporting period there existed no risks which threatened the existence of the company and that for the future no risks are recognisable which constitute a threat to its continued existence.

In the first half of 2025, there were no significant changes to the Group strategy as detailed in the 2024 Annual and Sustainability Report.

Outlook

Based on developments so far this year and expectations for the second half, the Management Board is maintaining its targets for 2025. This assumption is supported by the continued high order backlog and the anticipated contributions from the acquisition in Australia. Accordingly, output of around € 21 billion is being targeted; the EBIT margin is expected to reach at least 4.5%. Net investments (cash flow from investing activities) are forecast at no more than € 1.4 billion, in line with the implementation of Strategy 2030.