Media commentary

Revenue generated by the top 40 construction companies operating in Poland grew in double digits in 2023, in nominal terms, for the third straight year, and it was mostly the effect of the overall substantial growth of construction costs. For these companies to continue to thrive, it is necessary to disburse the EU funding for Poland promptly, including all the funds available under the National Recovery Scheme and the cohesion policy budget for 2021-2027, says Spectis.

The combined revenues of Poland's 40 leading construction groups amounted to PLN 77bn in 2023, an increase of around 14% y/y, according to a report by research firm Spectis titled "Construction companies in Poland 2023-2028".

As the residential construction market faced a fast-changing environment in 2023, home developers were eager to respond quickly. However, an analysis of the companies’ strategies performed by Spectis for the needs of the report "Residential property developers in Poland 2024-2029" indicates that they remained cautious in their business decisions despite the upturn and a great scope of opportunities.

According to the report released by research firm Spectis, "Modular construction market in Poland 2024-2029", top 100 manufacturers of prefabricated buildings made of wood, steel, concrete, or LECA generated revenue of nearly PLN 10bn in 2022, with 47% of the figure contributed by sales in the modular building segment.

As prefabrication technologies are increasingly applied in building construction, the value of the modular construction sector in Poland has increased nearly by half over the past two years. The process has been helped by a great selection of available materials as well as growing prices of materials and labour costs.

One sector in Poland that has certainly been licking its wounds is the construction industry, but the question remains: is it heading for a crisis? "Hopefully, not yet," says Bartłomiej Sosna, a construction market expert at construction consultancy Spectis.

The growth potential of the Polish construction market will remain significant through 2028 on the back of the continuation of ambitious road and railway construction projects, the energy transition of the Polish economy, the development of e-commerce, growing trends of nearshoring and friendshoring, and an upturn in the military construction segment.

The latest report from research firm Spectis indicates that following a strong start to the year, the outlook for the construction sector over the coming months of 2022 is now less bright. The expected slowdown can be indirectly caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine, which only aggravates the problems the market has been facing previously, such as soaring prices of raw materials, building materials, and energy sources or the shortage of labour.

The growth potential of the Polish construction market will remain significant through 2026 on the back of the continuation of ambitious road and railway infrastructure projects, the required power transformation of the Polish economy and the steadily robust performance of the residential construction sector. A vast majority of projects underway or planned to implemented are located in the six most economically advanced regions, which jointly account for two-thirds of the construction market’s value.

Manufacturers of facade products were successful in generating a little over PLN 3.6bn (€800m) in revenue in 2020 in spite of slower activity in the building construction sector, especially in the non-residential segment, according to the findings presented in the report released by research company Spectis entitled "Facades and facade materials in Poland 2021-2026".

December turned out to be a good month for construction companies and producers of building materials, according to the latest monthly report by research company Spectis, "Construction market in Poland – February 2021". However, the outlook for the construction industry in 2021 remains moderately bleak, mostly because of a high comparison base of Q1 2020. That the second half of the year could see an upturn is yet suggested by higher-order books reported by the top 20 construction companies.

According to the autumn edition of the report by research firm Spectis, owing to relatively good performance the construction industry delivered in the first half of the year, analysts revised 2020 forecasts upwards. Spectis expects that the market value real change will reach around 3% for the total market and 5% for companies with more than nine workers, versus falls of around 5% and 6%, respectively, projected last spring.

Four mega-projects are currently under construction in Poland with a combined value of PLN 17bn (€3.8bn), according to research by construction market analysts Spectis.

The set of large-scale ongoing projects includes the Polimery Police project at Zaklady Chemiczne Police, which was launched in January 2020, and the construction of power-generating units at facilities in Jaworzno, Bogatynia and Ostroleka, all of which face increasing difficulties, according to the findings presented in a report released by Spectis entitled "Construction market in Poland 2020-2025 – analysis of 16 regions".

The total value of the 960 largest construction projects currently underway or planned in Poland is estimated at over €120bn, according to the "Construction Market in Poland 2020-2025" report just published by construction market analysts Spectis.

Despite a short-lasting downturn in economic activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Polish construction industry will continue to exhibit a significant potential for growth right up to 2025. Notably, the outlook for the civil engineering sector has improved compared with the previous projections.

March was the twelfth consecutive month to see decreases in confidence in the construction sector. The seasonally-adjusted confidence index dipped into negative territory, and it plunged to a three-year low. Since the March survey does not reflect a completely new economic reality, it is expected that construction confidence will fall dramatically in April.

A new report by Polish construction market research group Spectis has described business confidence among the sector as having "tumbled" early this year. According to Spectis, the "heaviest burden, as perceived by construction companies" is the sharp rise in labour costs and increased taxation.

Business confidence among Polish construction companies tumbled early this year, with the heaviest burden, as perceived by the enterprises, coming from labour costs and tax levies. The decline in confidence is chiefly due to such factors as an over 15 percent increase in the minimum wage and a 10 percent hike in social insurance contributions faced by sole traders operating in the construction industry. On top of that, large construction businesses are required to conduct Employee Capital Schemes (PPK) or the alternative solution of Employee Pensions Schemes (PPE).

The top 40 construction groups reported PLN 49.7 billion (some €11.7bn) in aggregate revenue in 2018. That represented 31% of total revenue posted by medium-sized construction firms and large construction companies, i.e. companies which employ more than nine workers, according to the latest report by Spectis, entitled "Construction Companies in Poland 2019-2023".

The top 40 construction companies operating in Poland posted a record aggregate revenue in 2018, breaking the previous revenue high set in 2011. Besides an improved volume of work, the revenue hike was also largely driven by rising prices of building materials and labour.

The Spectis report shows that the Polish construction sector is still a highly-fragmented industry, with consolidation moving at a slow pace. Accordingly, the country’s top five construction groups – Budimex, Strabag, Skanska, Porr and Erbud – account for just under nine per cent of the entire sector’s value in terms of output.

The aggregate net profit margin of the 30 leading office, retail and warehouse developers operating in Poland ranged between 17% and 26 percent in 2012-2018, which represents an average annual margin of 21 percent, according to the "Property developers in Poland 2019-2023" report released by the research company Spectis.

The total value of 230 office, retail, warehouse and hotel projects, both ongoing and planned, which are conducted by top 30 property developers is estimated at nearly €10 billion, according to the latest report by research company Spectis.

The development pipeline of top 30 developers in Poland comes to 230 office, retail, warehouse and hotel projects with an estimated investment cost of €10bn, according to the “Property developers in Poland 2019-2023” report by Spectis.

Market analysis firm Spectis has predicted that in 2020 the value of the construction market in Poland may reach a record level of 250 billion PLN. The increase will likely be fuelled by the rising cost of wages in Poland but there are an estimated  320 billion PLN worth of projects at the tender or planning stage.

The autumn edition of the report by research firm Spectis "Construction market in Poland 2019-2025" finds that construction output generated by companies operating in Poland can climb to a record high of €59bn (PLN 250bn) in 2020. For comparison, during the previous business cycle, the construction sector peaked at €45bn (PLN 191bn) in 2011.

The autumn edition of the report by research firm Spectis “Construction market in Poland 2019-2025” finds that construction output generated by companies operating in Poland can climb to a record high of PLN 250 billion (€59bn) in 2020.

"The thing is, the construction sector’s contribution to the Polish economy remains significantly below the level seen when the preparations for the Euro 2012 Football Championship were in full swing. In 2008–2011 the construction industry accounted for about 12% of the gross domestic product, whereas its share is expected to amount to 10.5% in 2017–2020. This actually shows that an investment gap of more than PLN 30bn (€7bn) a year in the growth of Polish construction," argues Bartlomiej Sosna, a construction market consultant at Spectis.

Even if Polish construction growth is projected to slow in the coming years, the value of projects under way or planned is around €100bn, almost double one year's production. The conclusions are contained in a new report by the Spectis research group: Construction Market in Poland 2019-2025–an Analysis of 16 regions. It estimates the total value of the 960 largest projects in the pipeline at PLN 420bn (€100bn).

A study by construction market analyst Spectis has found that the value of the 960 largest projects planned or underway in Poland totals €100 billion – almost double the country’s annual output. The study focused on the top 60 projects in each of Poland’s governed regions, or voivodeships – 30 being building projects and 30 civil engineering structures – with the average value of projects covered totalling approximately €104 million.

A recent report from research company Spectis has revealed that despite projected slowing growth, the outlook for the Polish construction market is optimistic. The country can currently boast 960 investment projects either planned or underway, manifesting considerable investment potential. This fits Poland’s narrative as the champion of the emerging European markets, having averaged a 4.2 per cent per annum growth rate between 1992 and 2019.

The list of 960 investment projects that will exert the strongest influence on the situation in the Polish local construction markets includes €24 billion worth of projects underway and projects in the design or planning stage totalling €76 billion, according to the findings of the latest report from research company Spectis, "Construction market in Poland 2019-2025 – an analysis of 16 regions".

A review of feasible investment plans (disregarding potential though still uncertain megaprojects) identifies the Mazowieckie and Pomorskie voivodships as the leaders (around €12bn worth of projects in each of these regions), according to the findings of the latest report from research company Spectis, "Construction market in Poland 2019-2025 – an analysis of 16 regions".

Poland’s medium-sized construction firms and large construction companies generated a total net profit of PLN 4.3bn (around one billion euros) in 2018, compared to PLN 2.9bn zloty in the preceding year, according to a new report published by the research firm Spectis.

A recent report has shown a huge rise in profits for construction firms in Poland in the past year. The report, entitled The Construction Market in Poland 2019-2025, and published by research firm Spectis, has shown that, in 2018, large and medium-sized construction firms generated a total net profit of 4.3 billion zloty (ca. €1-billion).

Poland’s medium-sized construction firms and large construction companies generated a total net profit of 4.3 billion zloty (around one billion euros) in 2018, compared to 2.9 billion zloty in the preceding year, according to a new report published by the research firm Spectis.

POLAND Medium and large-sized construction companies generated a total net profit of PLN 4.3bln in 2018, compared to PLN 2.9 bln in the previous year, according to the "Construction market in Poland 2019-2025" report published by Spectis.

Construction industry research specialist Spectis said that loss-making contracts whose prices were set at the time of increased competition would still be pursued and billed in 2019 and 2020. It forecast, however, that fewer of them would be active, and that backlogs would start mostly to consist of contracts that were valued more conservatively.

The latest report by research company Spectis, entitled “Construction companies in Poland 2018-2022 – Comparative analysis and profiles of 40 leading contractors”, finds that exports generated by domestic construction companies surged in 2016 and 2017 (up by 19 percent and 16 percent, year on year), topping PLN 6.5 billion (€1.55 billion) in 2017, after a spell of stable exports in 2011-2015.

Polish construction companies generated 1.55 billion euros in revenue on foreign markets in 2017, an all time high. However, according to Spectis, a company which provides research support services to executives from the construction industry, the market is still below the potential of domestic contractors.

POLAND. The exports of Polish construction companies have hit an all-time high of EUR 1.55 bln, according to the latest report by Spectis: ‘Construction companies in Poland 2018-2022’.

Polish contractors listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) have shown negative profitability for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to a report by research company Spectis.

The findings of Construction Market in Poland – December 2018 show that the aggregate net profit of the 22 construction groups listed on the WSE totalled nearly 170 million zloty (approximately 40 million euros) in the third quarter of 2018, compared to net profit of 162 million zloty (38 million euros) registered in the corresponding period of 2017.

According to research company Spectis, profitability of 22 construction groups listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange continued in the negative territory throughout Q3 2018.

Unlike suppliers or property developers, construction companies have limited ability to pass on rising costs to their final customers. When they attempt to do so, the contracts are often cancelled with an estimated 15-20% of construction work orders in 2018 cancelled due to the fact that the bids made came in over-budget.

The final data for 2017 will be published by the Central Statistical Office only at the end of 2018. However - as explained in the report of the research company Spectis titled “Construction Market in Poland 2018 – 2025” - knowing the preliminary results of large construction companies and taking into account the trends in single-family and non-residential construction, estimates can be made.