Contractor Skanska saw construction revenue fall 11.5% to £532m over the first half of the year, but profits rose 15% to £20m.

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Skanska’s results for the six months to 30 June showed UK construction revenue at £532m (SEK: 5.8bn) - down 11.5% from £601m (SEK: 6.5bn) in the same period in 2011.

But operating profit rose 15% to £20m (SEK: 218m), with an operating margin of 3.8%, up from 2.9% in 2011.

Orders were at £438m (SEK: 4.8bn), up 17% on the same period in 2011.

Roger Bayliss, Skanska UK executive vice president, said: “Today’s results are encouraging. As can be seen, operating income and operating margins are up compared to that in 2011. This is a result of strong business management and successful completion of a number of projects during the period.

“Order bookings were also slightly up during the first six months of the year compared to the previous year. As we enter the second half of the year, we have a number of promising opportunities and our focus remains on managing our business to deliver performance on behalf of our clients, Skanska and our shareholders.”

“The UK construction industry as a whole continues to experience challenging market conditions. Against this backdrop, we expect trading during 2012 to be broadly in-line with what we experienced last year. We will continue to target those projects which we believe are both right for Skanska and where we can deliver the needs of our clients”.