Building hopes

Construction group ABM Solid is likely to enter the bourse this year. According to the company's CEO, Marek Pawlik, the group has already submitted its issue prospectus. The company plans to gain zł.30-35 million from the floor to fund expansion. "We want to expand our capital group," said Pawlik.

The capital group, 80 percent of which is controlled by the Pawlik family, operates in the residential and non-residential construction industry, as well as in civic engineering, including sewage treatment. It is comprised of three wholly owned units - ABM Solid, ABM Invest and Bio Solid - and controls 52-percent of the company Resbud, which Pawlik said the group is also considering floating on the exchange.

A key element of the company's strategy lies in moving from contracted construction works to full-scale development. Since July 2006, ABM Invest has been focusing on developing small and medium-sized estates and housing developments, both single- and multi-family. The key target is Warsaw as well as southern Poland, where the group owns a number of estates.

Currently, ABM Invest is working on two projects in Warsaw, involving 236 apartments, with a total space of 3,000 and 9,200 sqm, respectively. This year it aims at developing 50-200 apartments with a total of 3,000-10,000 sqm. "The exact number depends on the permits we get," explains the head of ABM Invest, Danuta Rybarczyk.

The group hopes that the move into development, along with organic growth and a number of takeovers, will lift it into the top 20 construction companies in the country by 2010.

In 2006 ABM Solid enjoyed a 45-percent growth in revenue y-o-y to zł.196.3 million, and a 190-percent annual rise in net profit to zł.5.2 million. Net profitability grew to 2.6 percent and EBITDA profitability was 6.2 percent.