Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Hochtief AG, Germany's largest builder, said profit last year gained 17 percent, boosted by a change in accounting standards and by rising demand.

Pretax profit advanced to 187 million euros ($243.5 million) in 2004 from 159.5 million euros a year earlier, the Essen-based company said today in a statement. New orders increased to 15.5 billion euros from 14.4 billion euros. Hochtief didn't release figures for net income or sales.

``It is unsatisfying that they released so few figures,'' said Ralf Doerper, a Dusseldorf-based analyst at WestLB AG with an ``outperform'' rating. ``They reached my estimates, and even partially topped them for the figures they did release.''

The company gained from the International Financial Reporting Standards, which end the regular expensing of goodwill related to acquisitions. Shares in Leighton Holdings Ltd., the Australian builder controlled by Hochtief, slumped today on concern that a 35 percent jump in earnings was the result of the company booking profit earlier than it has done in the past.

Hochtief shares fell 39 cents, or 1.6 percent, to 23.40 euros in Frankfurt. They have added 33 percent in six months, increasing the company's market worth to 1.64 billion euros.

``We have achieved very strong earnings growth especially in our construction-related activities,'' Chief Executive Hans-Peter Keitel, 57, said in the statement. ``We are generating healthy returns in our core construction operations throughout the group.''

Net income fulfilled the company's expectations, Hochtief said, without giving a figure. Hochtief in November forecast net income would be more than double last year's 16 million euros.

The German company plans to raise its dividend for 2004 to 75 cents a share from the 65 cents it paid for 2003.

Beat Estimates

Hochtief's earnings beat the 171.8 million-euro median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The company wrote down 21.1 million euros of goodwill amortization in 2003. Pretax profit without this expense would have been 180.6 million euros instead of 159.5 million euros.

Work done rose 13 percent to about 13 billion euros and the order backlog gained about the same amount to 18.6 billion euros in 2004, the company said.

Hochtief last month said it's leading a group of companies that will build and operate a 400 million-euro bridge in Chile. In the same month the company won three orders worth a total of 270 million euros to construct shopping centers in Germany.

Leighton, 50.1 percent-owned by Hochtief, indicated second- quarter net income jumped to A$52.7 million ($41 million), or 19.3 cents a share, from A$39.2 million, or 14.4 cents, a year ago. About half the gain resulted from the accounting switch. Shares in Leighton, Australia's largest builder, fell 5.1 percent.

Hochtief is scheduled to release final results on March 23.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sheenagh Archey in Frankfurt at sarchey@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 16, 2005 11:58 EST