Heberger: We won't reach 2008 turnover level until 2012, but we have patience

Heberger Constructii, the Romanian subsidiary of Germany's Heberger group, last year saw its turnover drop three times, to 20m euros, as the company in the first nine months of 2009 did not manage to seal any new contract. "Last year, we finished the large contracts we were carrying out when the crisis started and there were absolutely no new tenders for projects in the first nine months of 2009," says Claus Kegel, general manager of Heberger Constructii. The company in 2008 generated 65m-euro turnover, the highest level it reached domestically since entering the market in 2004. "We do not plan to reach the 2008 turnover level. The constructions field is no longer as profitable as it was in 2008, when the market was overheated. Our plan was to consolidate our turnover at a 50m-euro level. I believe this target will not be reached earlier than 2012, but we have patience," Kegel explains. He believes the real estate market will not pick up this year also because construction firms will have to wait a while for projects for which financing will be found to begin.