Greece’s largest construction group, Hellenic Technodomiki, reported a 22 percent drop in 2006 net profit yesterday, mainly as it invested to expand its operations abroad. The group said net profit came in at –47.5 million, compared to an average forecast of –67.3 million in a Reuters poll of eight analysts. “The full year’s profit was burdened with significant investments regarding the strategic goals of the company which will have long-term positive outcomes,” it said in a statement. Sales rose to –717.6 million from –581.8 million a year earlier, with construction activity making up about 90 percent of the group’s total revenues. The company will propose a dividend of 18 cents a share on 2006 earnings, 2 cents higher than 2005’s dividend. Technodomiki has been involved in many Greek public projects in recent years. It operates a ring road in Athens and the Rio-Antirio bridge connecting the western Peloponnese to the mainland. Hellenic Technodomiki, also active in waste management and wind energy, is looking to expand abroad to offset lower profit margins at home. Its shares have gained about 27 percent since the start of the year, trading around 25 times its estimated 2007 earnings, compared to a P/E ratio of 21 for European peers. (Reuters)

Cement producer Heracles, majority owned by France’s Lafarge, announced yesterday 2006 net profit fell 63 percent, as one-off gains last year were not repeated. Net profit fell to –58 million from –158.7 million last year, when it had extraordinary income from the refund of –44.1 million from the Greek state, the company said in a statement. Group revenues for the full year increased 14 percent to –693.7 million, due to increased volumes in the domestic market and higher export prices, which partly offset a rise in fuel and raw material costs. The company will propose to stockholders a dividend of –1 per share for 2006 earnings, up from –0.95 a share for 2005, it said. It operates three cement plants in Greece, with total annual production of 9.6 million tons. (Reuters)

Telecoms equipment maker Intracom posted a net loss for 2006 compared to a profit in 2005, as it charged one-off losses as part of its restructuring plans, the company said yesterday. Intracom, which also has interests in defence and construction, reported a loss of –68.8 million from a –3.2 million profit a year earlier on a capital loss after it sold 51 percent in its telecom unit. “Pretax profit was hit by the cost of the transfer of Intracom Telecom and the subsequent transfer tax,” Intracom said in a filing to the Athens bourse. Intracom sold the stake to Russia’s Sistema in the second half of last year. Intracom will also pay a dividend of –0.10 a share to shareholders, its first dividend payout in three years, the statement said. (Reuters)