Historical results of the Unibep Group
PLN 37 million (an increase by 28% y/y) of net profit, with sales at the level of PLN 1.68 billion, i.e., at the same level as in 2019 – these are the results of Unibep Group for 2020.
“The Group achieved these historical results in difficult, pandemic conditions”, says Leszek Gołąbiecki, President of the Management Board of Unibep SA. “Only in such a unique way, we were able to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the company. Otherwise, we would not have been able to celebrate due to the coronavirus”.
Very good financial results in Unibep were achieved by general contracting in Poland and abroad, housing development, and infrastructure construction. Lower indicators of modular construction result, among others, from higher than scheduled construction costs in Scandinavia (caused mainly by the pandemic and subsequent quarantines and changes in the organisation of work, etc.) as well the low exchange rate of the Norwegian krone.
“We will all remember 2020 as an extremely demanding time, associated with the unprecedented number of COVID-19 human infection cases in Poland and worldwide. From March 2020, our job virtually has become crisis management. The coronavirus did not halt works in construction industry, like it did with other economy segments. Unibep continued operation on both Polish and explored foreign markets, says Leszek Gołąbiecki. - Despite the growing number of cases and absences caused by reorganisation of work in all our businesses, all of our nearly 80 construction sites, production activities, and services continued operation. The company has remained stable, although it requires a lot of flexibility from all staff”.
It is worth mentioning that Unibep Group has built solid purchase portfolios in every segment for 2021 and subsequent years. The general contracting (domestic and foreign) contracts are worth approx. PLN 1.2 billion, in Infrastructure Branch – approx. PLN 710 million, and the engineering company Budrex – approx. PLN 165 million. Besides, Unihouse SA has contracts for over PLN 320 million.
“We have definitely improved the quality of our tendering, and we are expanding both geographically and in terms of our product range. We are visible or soon to come on construction sites in Małopolska, in the West Pomeranian, Lublin, and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship” adds the president. “However, we continue our work on winning new contracts. When it comes to eastern markets, we focus mainly on Ukraine”.
It is also worth mentioning the growing position of the development segment in the Unibep Group. Unidevelopment SA – a subsidiary company of Unibep SA – reached a record level of PLN 242 million in sales (with the net profit of PLN 27 million). The developer signed 819 contracts with clients and handed over 770 apartments. We decided to expand Unidevelopment operations to the Tri-City market. In March 2021, the company bought a property in Gdańsk where it plans to complete a development project.
It is worth adding that Unidevelopment SA, apart from selling flats to individual clients, has started selling real estate to institutional clients. The company concluded a preliminary sale agreement in this field with an investment fund selling the second stage of the Fama Jeżyce residential estate in Poznań.
“Poland may become an important market for investors who want to invest in apartments for rent or student halls of residence. We are well prepared for talks with such investment funds, as our portfolio includes multi-stage projects” explains Leszek Gołąbiecki.
The President stresses the fact that the company carefully analyses the situation in Poland and operating markets, including both economical aspect and the coronavirus COVID-19 situation.
“I hope that the construction industry, like in the previous year, will be working normally, performing contracts in line with schedules. At the same time, I would like to stress the fact that Unibep Group is prepared for various scenarios of action, and as proved the experience of the previous year, we are flexible and we can effectively manage crisis situations.
What are the goals of the Unibep Group for 2021? - First of all, we want to develop our businesses, improve their efficiency, focus on modern tools and innovative approach to construction projects. As the Unibep Group, we want to improve our results from year to year. Of course, we will also take care of the health and safety of our employees”, explains Leszek Gołąbiecki.