CEOs Enjoy Strong Markets But Are Wary of the Future
With engineering and construction firms seemingly in the pink these days, some CEOs are making plans to give something back in the form of “social responsibility” initiatives—from buying carbon credits to offset energy use to more pro bono consulting work. They see the efforts as a key recruiting and image tool, but other corporate chiefs warn that continued industry growth and profitability still faces some key challenges.
The economic views and fledging social plans were discussed in New York City Oct. 19 at the annual industry CEO conference sponsored by locally based financial management firm EFCG Inc. Its survey of 192 industry companies showed that they posted total revenue of $47.8 billion in 2006, a 12% hike over the previous year, said EFCG President Paul J. Zofnass. Backlog similarly rose 13% over last year, while operating margins were estimated to rise 11.8% by year end and 12.5% next year, the firms say.