Construction with Revenues of €4.5 Billion Outside Portugal, But the Pace is Slowing

26 December 2017

With a turnover of around 4.5 billion euros outside of Portugal, the construction sector maintained its downward trend in 2015, in a decline of 14% compared to the previous year, when revenues stood at €5.2 billion. The data are revealed in the Internationalization Handbooks published annually by the Association of Construction, Public Works and Services Companies (AECOPS).

The annual publication, which discloses data on Portuguese construction activity abroad in 2016, reveals that – as already indicated the level of works in the overall portfolio in 2015, which came in at 14% lower than in 2014 – in the year under review the sector’s turnover abroad fell by 1%, representing 2% of GDP (3% in 2015), as well as the share of activity in Portuguese exports, which was limited to 6% (7% in 2015).

The results show that in 2016 the international activities of Portuguese construction companies continued to be focused on African markets, where, despite the drop in activity (-29%), they managed to obtain half of their turnover (2.2 billion euros), and Central and South America, where, on the contrary, there was an increase in activity (by 12% compared to 2015), as turnover reached €1.7 billion (27% more than in 2015).

Less Europe, more Middle East

Another market where Portuguese construction declined significantly (-26% turnover and -45% in orders) was the European one, unlike in the Middle East, where there was an increase both in turnover (€32 million) and new contracts (€24 million).

In an analysis of the performance of Portuguese construction by country, Angola topped the list, with 26% of the volume of business obtained abroad. The African country was followed by Mexico (10%), Mozambique (9%), Brazil and Peru (7%), Poland (5%), Venezuela (4%) and Algeria, Malawi and South Africa (3%).

Story: Idealista

Original Translation: Richard Turner