China's largest contractors continue to stay at the top

The four largest contractors in the world are all Chinese state-controlled companies, according to the 2015 edition of International Construction’s ranking of the world’s 200 biggest construction companies.

China State Construction & Engineering (CSCEC) retained its no.1 spot from last year’s ranking, while second placed China Railway Group  overtook China Railway Construction, which is in 3rd position this year. New to the top four is China Communications Construction, which has pushed France’s Vinci into 5th position.

As last year, CSCEC was the only US$ 100 billion+ per year contractor on the list. The top four Chinese contractors had total revenues in 2014, the year on which this year’s rankings are based, of US$ 375 billion.

Elsewhere in the top ten there was little movement from last year, with major European groups like Bouygues, ACS, and its majority-owned German arm Hochtief, ranked with the biggest contractor in the Americas, Bechtel, and yet another Chinese state-owned entity, MCC.

Total revenues for the global Top 200 came to US$ 1,629 billion, which was a record and made it the thirteenth straight year the group’s sales have grown, albeit by just +0.3%. The overall operating margin for the Top 200 was 4.79%, an improvement on the previous year’s profit level of 4.65%.

Total employment by the Top 200 was put at 4.6 million people, a -6.5% decline on the previous year’s figure of 4.9 million staff. The average Top 200 contractor has just over 24,500 staff.

The full Top 200 report, along with in-depth analysis of global, regional and national contractor trends is published in the July- August edition of International Construction. Click here to register for a FREE subscription to the magazine.