Austria's top economic news - March 1

Vaccine developer Intercell said its 2010 net loss soared to EUR 255.2m from EUR 18.38m a year earlier. Sales decreased 45% to EUR 34.2m, missing analysts' forecasts. The results were massively burdened by the company's failure in the development of a vaccine for traveller's diarrhoea. For 2011 the company projects sales to recover and the loss to be reduced to between EUR 30m and EUR 40m.
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Austria's unemployment rate stood at 4.3% in February 2011, representing 20,648 less unemployed and 13,925 people less on training courses. A total of 361,759 were unemployed.
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BDI BioEnergy plans to distribute EUR 2.65 per share to its shareholders. The move results from a decision for a capital reduction of EUR 10.07m.
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The withdrawal of builder Porr from the Libyan market will cost around EUR 1.5m, which will be divided with local partner, and Porr's shareholder, Renaissance, CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss told APA. The company has been present on the local market for a very short time.
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Circuit board maker AT&S has bought a 120,000 sq m land plot for its expansion in China. The site will be located in the southwestern city of Chongqing.
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Chip maker austriamicrosystems (AMS) said its sales grew 53% to EUR 209.4m in 2010. The company turned a net profit of EUR 23.1m, compared to a loss of EUR 16.7m for 2009. AMS envisages a dividend of EUR 0.52 per share for the year. For 2011 sales are seen growing by around 10%.
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Austria's construction sector booked order backlog of EUR 5.9bn at the end of November 2010, down 4.8% in annual terms, Statistik Austria said.
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Austria's construction sector delivered an output of EUR 13.1bn between January to November 2010, down 4.1%, Statistik Austria reported. Civil engineering fell 7.7% on the year.
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The turnover of Austria's construction and industrial sectors stood at EUR 21.8bn in November 2010, up 14.5% Y/Y, Statistik Austria reported. Employment rose 1.1%.