What is the outlook for the construction industry now?

Source: tozsdeforum.hu
GeoAkku, steel, construction, Forumforumforum.com
Épduferr is a very active player in both the construction and steel sectors. According to Milán Palkovics, instead of the expected boom in the steel industry, the market has continued to shrink, consumption has started to fall drastically, and fewer items are being bought that are based on steel. Despite this, Épduferr is trying to keep its former customers and has repositioned its dealers to sales activities to draw customers' attention to its production capacity. At present, the steel structure and component manufacturing plants are preparing to invest in expanding capacity at Épduferr in response to the increased order book.
In the construction sector, Épduferr's Chairman of the Board does not see a recovery in the near future, it could be a longer process. He stressed, however, that despite this, the company has managed to win significant orders already this year, mentioning the one and a half billion Cegléd contract. In response to a question, Milán Palkovics explained that Épduferr's diversification has enabled them to become very efficient, as the company also supplies building materials and steel structures to their suppliers as a general contractor.

Also mentioned in the interview was GeoAkku Ltd, which Épduferr founded together with a private individual. The company director said that they have a method for storing energy in a much more efficient and cheaper way than the current battery storage, and they have also entered into a cooperation with MVM. The latter is currently investigating, among other things, how GeoAkku can adapt its response time to grid needs.
Stock exchange presence
In February this year, Épduferr shares were traded on the Xtend market for two years. Milán Palkovics explained that the presence on the stock exchange is not common in the industry and that its transparency gives the company an advantage and a more positive image. The most spectacular example of this was the Maarif school project in Budapest, where the listing played a decisive role in the selection process, in addition to price. In addition, the chairman of the board of Épduferr indicated that the story of the company is that they have created business lines that create synergies with each other and, as a generic builder, they can exploit these.
So far, they have raised close to HUF 1 billion before launch. During their time on the stock exchange, Milan Palkovics did not see any significant opportunity for this, but they are now starting to feel some recovery in the capital markets and are trying to be prepared to respond. From a capital raising point of view, the Standard category could offer even more, but there is no general meeting decision on the change of category yet, he said, but nevertheless one of the most costly conditions of the category has already been met, as they are already accounting under IFRS. Otherwise, he said, with the fall in the base rate of the central bank, capital markets are becoming more buoyant and investors are more open to new stories.