WRAPUP 2-Housing hurts Spain builders, services aid Germans

Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:13pm EST
 
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* Sales slump at Spanish builders' real estate units

* Metrovacesa slashes investment target by 90 percent

* Acciona mulls selling real estate, FCC reviews outlook

* German builders bolstered by services, mining units

* Hochtief Q3 pretax profit beats expectations

By Sonya Dowsett and Peter Dinkloh

MADRID, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Plunging property prices depressed sales and earnings at Spanish builders on Friday, as one of their German peers benefited from its lower exposure to real estate to post better-than-expected results.

Earnings of Spain's Sacyr (SVO.MC), FCC (FCC.MC) and Acciona (ANA.MC) were hurt by a market in which government data showed house sales had dropped 31 percent in the second quarter. Real estate firm Metrovacesa (MVC.MC) said it would slash planned investments by 90 percent.

But Germany's largest builder Hochtief (HOTG.DE) surprised the market with forecast-beating earnings, helped by its Australian mining business Leighton (LEI.AX), sending its shares soaring.

Although most Spanish constructors have diversified away from the property market by moving into services, energy and public works, they still own divisions related to real estate, which marked heavy losses. Spain is suffering a severe property downturn after nine years of boom.

Metrovacesa said on Friday it would slash investments to a tenth of its previous target, reducing 2009-2012 spending on projects to 212 million euros ($269 million) from a previous 2.082 billion.

Sacyr Vallehermoso, the debt-laden company with the biggest exposure to property of the three, saw real estate pre-sales fall 85 percent in the nine months to September and core earnings at its residential development unit drop by nearly a third.

Acciona, the builder which has moved away from construction into the energy sector with its joint buy of utility Endesa (ELE.MC) with Enel (ENEI.MI) of Italy, said real estate pre-sales were down 72 percent.

It said it was studying the sale of a string of non-core units including selected real estate assets in its portfolio.

Constructor and services group FCC (FCC.MC) said it was re-evaluating the outlook for its business until 2010 given the difficult economic and financial environment after nine-month net profit fell 52 percent, battered by the slowdown in its construction, cement and property businesses in Spain.  Continued...

 
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