Imtech expects return to positive EBITDA in 2015

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch engineering company Imtech missed consensus profit forecasts in the fourth quarter, partly because of restructuring costs, but reduced the scale of its losses and said it would return to positive earnings in 2015. In its fourth-quarter results, published on Wednesday, the company said the bulk of the charges it had taken for restructuring and rationalising its real estate portfolio were behind it. The company said it expected positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2015 after making large losses in 2013 and 2014. "Imtech normalised its financial situation and dealt with substantial one-off costs," said Chief Executive Gerard van de Aast in a statement. "We are well of the challenges still ahead ... but progress to date has been steady." In the fourth quarter, the company made an EBITDA loss of 128.4 million euros (92 million pounds) off revenues of 1 billion euros. Analysts polled for Reuters had on average predicted an EBITDA loss of 97.4 million off revenues of 931 million. The company has been dogged by corruption allegations and is facing investigations relating to contracts in Poland and Germany. Its management has been almost completely changed since the alleged malpractice took place. (Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Sunil Nair)