Shares in Swedish construction group Peab AB jumped 5.5% on Thursday after the company reported a rise in second-quarter sales, beating market expectations. The stock closed at SEK 78.40 in Stockholm trading, making it one of the top performers on the Nordic exchange today.
The company attributed the sales growth to strong demand across both infrastructure and residential construction segments, particularly in Sweden and Norway. Peab said order intake also improved during the period, with a notable uptick in public-sector infrastructure contracts. The results come as European construction firms continue to benefit from government spending on transport and energy projects.
For UK investors, the jump in Peab's shares is a reminder of the broader European construction sector's resilience. While Peab is not listed in London, many UK pension funds and multi-asset portfolios hold exposure to Nordic equities through exchange-traded funds or actively managed European equity funds. The FTSE 100 edged up 0.3% today to 8,245 points, partly supported by positive sentiment from the continent.
Analysts at Nordea noted that Peab's performance reflects a stabilisation in construction input costs and a steady pipeline of public-sector work. 'The underlying demand picture remains solid, especially in infrastructure, which is less sensitive to interest rate cycles,' they said in a note. However, caution remains around residential demand in some European markets, where higher borrowing costs continue to weigh on new housing starts.
The wider European construction index rose 1.2% on the day, with Peab leading gains. UK-listed peers such as Balfour Beatty and Kier Group saw more modest rises of 0.8% and 0.5% respectively, as investors weighed domestic infrastructure spending against ongoing cost pressures.