Norconsult Group delivered strong growth in gross revenue and profit for the first three quarters in 2020. Gross revenue Year to date came in at NOK 4,979 million, compared with NOK 4,472 million for the previous year. This represents an increase of NOK 508 million (11.3 per cent). Organic growth, adjusted for acquisitions, was approximately 7 per cent. Operating profit was NOK 450 million compared with NOK 367 million last year. Gross operating margin for the Group for the year to date increased from 8.2 per cent in 2019 to 9 per cent in 2020. The operating profit was boosted by cost savings resulting from the coronavirus situation. These include savings related to travel, courses and training, as well as office and operating expenses.
The Nordic business area – which comprises Norconsult Group’s companies in Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Poland as well as Technogarden – reported revenue growth of NOK 229 million (+19.6%) for the third quarter, measured against the same period in 2019. Just under NOK 100 million of this growth comes from the weak Norwegian krone, however the underlying growth is exceptionally strong.
“In partnership with our customers and business partners, we have managed to maintain a high level of activity, despite tough competition and a demanding market during the coronavirus pandemic. We are particularly proud of the strong developments we see in neighbouring Sweden and Denmark, where profitability has also increased significantly,” said Per Kristian Jacobsen, President and CEO of Norconsult.
Solid activity across multiple projects
In the third quarter, Norconsult experienced high activity in almost every business area and throughout the Nordics. In Norway, the company is providing consultancy services for the preparation of a zoning plan for the Ramstadsletta-to-Slependen section of the E18 motorway west of Oslo, as well as detailed zoning plans for the new route for the E18/E39 (Ytre Ringvei) motorway in Kristiansand. Norconsult is also playing a key role in the project planning of the new Roterud-to-Storhove section of the E6 motorway, the new clinic and proton building at the Norwegian Radium Hospital, Hammerfest hospital, Narvik hospital and the new water treatment facility for Asker and Bærum Waterworks. Carpe Diem Dementia Village in Bærum recently won the healthcare centre of the year award, a project on which Norconsult has collaborated closely with Nordic – Office of Architecture.
Norconsult in Sweden has won the tender to rebuild Polarbröd’s bakery in Älvsbyn, which was irreparably damaged in a fire in late summer. Sävehuset, a primary school on Gotland island, has won the Sweden Green Building Awards 2020. As the company responsible for the house, interior and landscape architects, Norconsult has shown that you can give a dilapidated building a whole new life. The award is presented by Sweden Green Building Council.
In Denmark, Norconsult has won the tender to build a new police station in Silkeborg. The Boligselskabet Viborg building association has chosen Norconsult as the overall consultant in connection with the renovation of Digterparken with a total of 383 homes. Furthermore, Norconsult’s team is among those selected to participate in an architectural competition involving the development of 400,000 m2 in Copenhagen’s new Jernbanebyen district. This is a collaborative project between Norconsult AB in Sweden and Norconsult A/S in Denmark.
Norconsult’s company, Technogarden Albatross Project Management, recently won a framework agreement to provide project management services for Bane NOR, in which Norconsult will deliver resources for development projects under the auspices of Bane NOR.
Norway’s most attractive consultancy company
For many years, Norconsult has focused on recruitment, especially aimed at engineering students, and with stiff competition from other large Norwegian companies. Working engineers recently named Norconsult Norway’s most attractive employer in the annual Universum Professional Survey. In the same study, Norconsult was also rated the best in the industry in the consulting engineer category.