Brussels, 14 May 2024 - BESIX Group today announced its results for the year ended December 31, 2023. With a turnover of €3.39 billion, one of the highest in the last 20 years, the company has drawn on its geographical and sector diversification to confirm its resilience in the face of a difficult macro-economic environment. The group’s order book stands at over €5 billion, testifying to customers' continuing confidence in the company's capabilities.
A solid recovery
For 2023, BESIX Group achieved revenues of €3.39 billion (compared with €3.34 billion in 2022), of which €1.4 billion came from projects in Belgium.
Despite the continuing negative impact of higher interest rates, raw material, and energy prices, BESIX Group generated an adjusted EBITDA of €117 million in 2023, compared with €129 million in 2022. Net profit was €18.1 million.
Lastly, the order book on 31 December 2023 held steady at €5.09 billion, close to the previous year's figure of €5.2 billion.
These results confirm a recovery after years marked by inflation and supply chain disruptions.
Operational excellence on the rise
BESIX Group's strategic choice on maintaining a healthy geographical and sectoral diversification of its activities, and prioritising project quality over volume, has been a driving force behind the Group's success. This enabled it to increase the gross profit margin on its construction projects marking a rise in its operating profitability. This improvement is of crucial importance at a time when margins in this industry remain under pressure.
"In 2023, our determination to maintain high standards of quality and operational excellence has been rewarded with an increase in our gross profit margin. The fact that our order book has held up at a remarkable level with healthy margins reflects our customers' confidence in our ability to deliver high-quality projects, even in an uncertain economic environment. At BESIX, we face challenges with resilience and are proud of the remarkable achievements of 2023. Our teams deserve all our gratitude for their ongoing dedication. Given the markets we operate in, the road ahead in 2024 will have its share of ups and downs, but I'm convinced that together we can overcome the obstacles and achieve our goals", comments Pierre Sironval, CEO BESIX Group.
BESIX Group in Belgium
BESIX Group maintains a strong presence in the Belgian market, where it generates more than one third of its business volume, representing a turnover of more than €1.4 billion. The group's regional subsidiaries, general and specialist contractors, continue to be one of the cornerstones of the group's profitability.
In 2023, nearly 150 new white collars and 200 new blue collars were hired in Belgium. Worldwide, BESIX Group recruited no fewer than 530 new employees. This trend will continue in 2024, thanks in particular to a full order book. There are already have around 100 vacancies in the Benelux region, as high added-value projects have a strong human focus.
A commitment to the environment, safety, governance, and society
In addition to financial results, BESIX Group attaches particular importance to ESG and safety. In 2023, the group stepped up its actions in this area, in particular by launching its ESG Board. The launch of this board marked a decisive step in the implementation of sustainable practices, while at the same time complying with the requirements of the CSRD. The group also drew up its double materiality matrix after consulting some 190 stakeholders, while numerous workshops on sustainable development were launched, in which 200 employees already took part in 2023.
In the BESIX engineering office, a dedicated sustainability team focused in 2023 on finding ways to optimise the environmental efficiency of the projects studied and designed by the group, in order to help customers make sustainable choices. By considering CO2 emissions as a crucial design factor in the life cycle of a project, the BESIX engineering team plays an active role in supporting its customers in their efforts to decarbonise their activities.
Safety also remains the absolute priority for the group. Thanks to the BE SAFE programme and its 500 or so ambassadors, more than 3,000 safety walks were carried out, including more than 400 by members of management, underlining the importance of leadership in safety. With the global adoption of its 'OASIS' tracking platform in 2023, the group is also looking to digitise its safety processes. The group also continues to strengthen its leading role in safety through its IOSH accreditation, which was renewed in 2023.
On the social front, BESIX was rewarded for its commitment to the well-being and development of its personnel, being awarded the Top Employer certificate for the fourth year running. Finally, the BESIX Foundation also celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2024, testifying to the Group's ongoing commitment to philanthropic projects on the themes it holds dear: education, the environment, and construction. In 15 years, no fewer than 390 projects have been supported, and some €6.1 million invested in this support.
Results of BESIX Real Estate Development
Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the real estate market in 2023 - including geopolitical instability, high construction costs and interest rates, inflation, and challenges related to obtaining permits - BESIX Real Estate Development achieved stable revenue in 2023 and made a positive contribution to the group's net results.
This positive contribution was notably made possible thanks to transactions carried out for the WellBe offices (27,600 m²) in Portugal, ICÔNE (18,800 m²) in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and residential unit sales in Belgium and Portugal (83 units, totalling more than 9,000 m²).
The year 2023 was also marked by obtaining urban planning permits for several flagship projects totalling 70,000 m² of residential space, representing nearly 500 new units (Anthéa, Les Promenades d’Uccle, Esprit Courbevoie, and Green Station), and 6,000 m² of office space (Lighthouse), in Belgium and Portugal.
In 2023, BESIX RED also received international recognition from its peers: ICÔNE was crowned Best Office Building, while Sluishuis, an iconic residential project in Amsterdam designed with BIG Architects, received a prestigious MIPIM Award.
Finally, BESIX RED also took advantage of the year to refine its ESG strategy, supported by clear KPIs to align all projects with the European taxonomy.
BESIX RED approaches 2024 cautiously in an uncertain environment. The developer has a strong and diversified portfolio, encompassing 33 projects and over 956,000 m² (including partnerships). With solid foundations and the support of a high-performing team, the developer remains poised to seize new opportunities that may arise.
Results of BESIX Construction
In 2023, a year still marked by geopolitical uncertainties, BESIX Construction held up well and adapted. Major projects were completed, such as the Deloitte University EMEA campus near Paris and the Antwerp Police offices, the largest private-public building partnership for BESIX in Belgium to date.
The group made progress in the Middle East, notably with a port infrastructure project in Saudi Arabia, the waste-to-energy plant in Dubai, which has started to deliver its first Kwh’s to the local electricity grid, the delivery of the Uptown Tower, and the delivery of the Atlantis The Royal resort in Dubai. In Egypt, a major step was taken with the award of completion certificates for the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, marking the culmination of more than a decade's work.
In Australia, BESIX Watpac celebrated its 40th anniversary, having delivered more than AUD25 billion worth of projects since it was founded. In 2023, BESIX Watpac also won twelve industry awards in recognition of its operational excellence.
The year 2024 also reserves its share of success in this segment, with the delivery of the Saint-Denis Pleyel station, a crucial metro station for the Paris Olympic Games, but also with major progress on infrastructure projects, both road (A16 De Groene Boog and A27, the Netherlands, and Oosterweel, Belgium) and marine (Nordhavn tunnel, Copenhagen and Port of Navegantes, Brazil).
Results of BESIX Invest
In 2023, BESIX Invest made remarkable progress on infrastructure and concessions partnerships such as the A16 motorway in Rotterdam and the new Antwerp police headquarters. Internationally, BESIX Invest's presence in the Middle East remains strong, particularly in water and municipal waste treatment facilities and social infrastructure. The team has also consolidated its commitment to environmental projects, as demonstrated by the progress made in the authorisation procedures required to launch the construction of a new sewage sludge treatment facility for Aquafin in Ghent, and the first steps taken as a developer of solar energy projects.
In 2023, BESIX Invest also signed investment agreements with two venture capital funds specialising in PropTech and ConTech, and consolidated its portfolio of start-ups in which the group has acquired stakes in recent years. These include BuildUp, whose CEO Hélène de Troostembergh was named Young Personality of the Year at the Belgian Construction Awards, and CIRCL, whose first circular, energy-efficient houses were inaugurated in 2023.
The year 2024 got off to a good start, with the signing of the concession and financing contracts for the R4WO ring road project in Ghent, the largest public-private infrastructure partnership in Belgium, which demonstrates the group's strength in multiple business sectors, with no fewer than four of its entities involved. In 2024, BESIX Invest will continue to extend its reach in the United Arab Emirates, with projects such as Khalifa University (3,200-bed campus) for which BESIX is the preferred bidder.
Results of BESIX Affiliates
Within the BESIX Group, four regional contractors and five specialist contractors are active in the Benelux, acting as both general contractors and subcontractors. They cover a broad spectrum from construction to infrastructure, from environmental services to fibre and cable placement, from quarrying to building materials.
In 2023, these companies played a crucial role, accounting for a significant third of the Group's business, and most of them met or exceeded their budget forecasts despite difficult market conditions.
For example, Wust successfully completed major projects such as Socogetra's new head office in Marche-en-Famenne, demonstrating excellent collaboration among the group's Walloon entities. Jacques Delens had a year of stabilisation, based on the momentum of previous years. Vanhout had some remarkable achievements with projects such as the renovation of the Fierens blocks in Antwerp and the ‘Velodroom’ sports complex in Zolder. LuxTP continued its positive trajectory, winning some notable contracts such as the new hospital in Luxembourg.
BESIX Unitec, the cabling and fibre specialist, enjoyed strong growth, extending its reach into the Walloon telecoms and energy markets. BESIX Infra delivered several key road and sewerage projects in Flanders, while Socogetra remained a major player in Wallonia in the field of rail and civil engineering works. Franki Foundations saw strong activity in all its markets, thanks in particular to the INEOS project involving 20,000 bored piles. Finally, BESIX Environment made a significant contribution to the group's success with several infrastructure projects in the water sector and as a partner in the first green hydrogen project in Belgium.
Outlook for 2024: Confidence and vigilance
The year 2024 offers promising prospects for BESIX around the globe, with major projects about to be launched and several important ones about to be completed. The diversity and quality of BESIX Group's order book are encouraging for the years ahead, standing at a level of €5.09 billion with healthy margins. Examples include projects in sports infrastructure (stadium, Saudi Arabia), river infrastructure (locks, Netherlands), social infrastructure (student accommodation, UAE), and industrial environmental facilities (green hydrogen and drinking water plants, Belgium).
However, the industry still faces challenges, not least those arising from the global geopolitical situation. These factors have contributed to inflationary pressures and rising prices for materials and energy, which have had an impact on the construction sector at a macroeconomic level.
These circumstances incline the group to focus in the future on projects that meet its high risk management and profitability criteria, particularly in marine and civil infrastructure, while developing its diversified recurring revenue activities and further anchoring its regional and specialised activities.
Its mission remains unchanged: to build a sustainable future by committing to excellence in its core business and responding flexibly to changing market needs.
