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Investing.com -- Skanska (ST:SKAb) shares fell more than 2% in early European trading after the company reported lower-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, pointing to uneven performance in its Residential Development business. Solid sales in Central Europe were offset by continued softness in the Nordic housing market.
The Swedish construction giant posted an operating profit of 1.08 billion Swedish crowns ($112.74 million), up from 497 million a year earlier but short of the 1.19 billion forecast in an LSEG analyst poll.
"The Nordic housing market softened in the first quarter, resulting in fewer homes being sold compared with the same period last year and a weak result," CEO Anders Danielsson said.
Skanska also cut its outlook for the U.S. Construction division to “stable” from “strong,” citing delays in investment decisions tied to uncertainty over tariffs.
"We expect this will drive price weakness toady, as despite SKAB’s net cash b/s and robust order backlog which creates resilience, current macro uncertainty is weighing on Property development," Jefferies analysts said in a note.