Hit by shrinkages in both the public and private sector markets, four of the nation's five largest construction companies on Tuesday reported sharp falls in both sales and profits in the fiscal first half.
The four firms are Kajima Corp., Taisei Corp., Shimizu Corp. and Ohbayashi Corp.
Shimizu Corp. revealed the worst results, with group sales having dropped 25.5 percent on a year-on-year basis to 496.28 billion yen.