Williamson had beem president of Skanska Sweden.

Skanska A/S has replaced its U.K. president following a second downgrading on project earnings this year. The company announced a $39 million write down, blaming it on a hospital contract with two or three years to run.

Mats Williamson, president of Skanska Sweden, where the company is based, will immediately take charge of U.K. operations, replacing David Fison, who leaves after 10 years with the company. Williamson’s assignment is “to turn the business back to profitability by implementing the best practice which we have in Skanska’s other units,” says group President and Chief Executive Officer Johan Karlström.

The latest contract problem emerged from a review by senior executives from Skanska’s global regions this May and June. The resulting write down “is 100% an internal issue. It has nothing to do with the market situation,” says Karlström. Projections for Skanska’s other privately financed U.K. contracts were adjusted “up and down a little,” he adds.

With this year’s $95 million total write down for the period ending in June, the U.K. unit recorded an $83-million operating loss. This contributed to a 22% fall in group construction earnings to $233 million, on $10.9 billion in revenue. The U.S., Skanska’s second largest market, turned in a 63% first half operating profit rise to $78 million, on $3.2 billion in sales.