ConDig (14-Jul-17).  The US civil division of developer and contractor Skanska has reported write downs of about SEK 780M ($50.3 million) in the second quarter amid project delays and failure to hit estimated production rates.

The company said that ongoing negotiations with clients regarding design changes in certain projects are progressing and have no financial impact in the second quarter.

Skanska added that its US civil division will focus on core geographies and product lines going forward in order to reduce organizational costs and restore profitability.

The company also reported write downs of SEK 360M ($43.1 million) in its UK operations in the second quarter.

The impact of the write downs pushed Skanska’s total operating income down to SEK 1.5 billion in the second quarter of this year from SEK 1.7 billion a year earlier.

It comes as total operating income at its construction division dipped to SEK 0.1 billion from SEK 0.9 billion.

Skanska reported yesterday that it had appointed Robert Ward as business unit president of its US Commercial Development division.

Last week, Skanska landed a $41 million contract with the University of South Florida to build a research and education tower in Tampa, Florida.