HOLLAND Railconsult BV recorded a pre-tax profit of €9m in 2003, down from €11m in 2002. Turnover fell 5·7% to €136m from €144m, and profits amounted to 6·4% of turnover, around 1% lower than 2002.
The consultancy found 2003 ’a difficult year’ in the infrastructure market and reduced its workforce by 200 to match market demand, mainly through the use of flexible contracts.
Increasing co-operation with other companies was central to Holland Railconsult’s plans during 2003. A joint venture with ICT BV established rail capacity management specialist InTraffic, and Holland Railconsult’s participation in freight and logistics consultancy A&S Management has given it experience of intermodal issues.
Domestic civil engineering work was down owing to completion of projects on HSL-Zuid and the Betuwe route, but the firm’s activities outside the Netherlands are expanding steadily. Holland Railconsult sees growth opportunities in the production of unified interoperability specifications, and expects to expand its Movares brand into additional EU countries.
