May 31 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian construction company Trace Group Hold [BUL:T57] said that it turned to a consolidated net profit of 585,000 levs ($319,933/299,105 euro) in the first quarter of 2023 from a consolidated net loss of 1.8 million levs a year earlier, after its revenue nearly tripled.
Trace Group Hold's operating revenue came in at 56.7 million levs in the first three months of this year, up from 20.7 million levs in the first quarter of 2022, the company said in an interim financial statement published after close of trading on Tuesday.
Revenue from construction contracts, which made up over 98% of the total, surged by 180% on the year in the review period, reaching 55.6 million levs.
The group's operating expenses also significantly widened, to 56 million levs in January-March from 22.2 million levs a year earlier. This was largely due to a near-quadrupling of costs for materials to 20.7 million levs. Costs for hired services jumped to 26.4 million levs in the reviewed quarter from 8.7 million levs in the first quarter of 2022. Salary costs went up 30% to 6.5 million levs.
Trace Group Hold expects revenue from construction contracts to soar to 147.5 million levs in the first half of 2023, compared to 38.9 million levs booked in January-June 2022, it said.
Among the notable contracts secured by the group in the first quarter are a 25 million levs three-year road infrastructure contract signed with Stara Zagora municipality, a 12.1 million levs road repair contract in Sofia and an 11.8 million levs railway upgrade contract in the northeastern town of Pliska. Trace Group Hold also currently participates in motorway construction contracts in Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania and is taking part in the construction of the third metro line in Sofia.
The company, which did not pay dividend last year, is proposing to pay out a gross sum of 0.16 levs per share for 2022, it said earlier.
Shares in Trace Group Hold closed flat at 3.70% on Tuesday.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)