Moderate growth across all Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) business segments has resulted in an 11%, or R14.7-billion, increase in revenue from continuing operations in the six months ended December 31, the JSE-listed construction company reported on Monday.
The group also noted a 4% increase in its overall earnings per share (EPS), up from 548c year-on-year to 570c, while overall headline earnings per share (HEPS) decreased by 8% to 541c from 586c in the comparative period.
EPS and HEPS in respect of continuing operations decreased by 14% and 18%, respectively, over the comparative period owing to the poor performance of the group’s operations in Australia, which related to losses incurred within Australian civil businesses, as a result of three material loss-making contracts, together with a particularly subdued market.
“[Our revenue] is on quite a high level at the moment in industry, as our building divisions are really doing well, both here and in Australia, but the civil and roads markets are under pressure,” WBHO CEO Louwtjie Nel told Engineering News Online in a telephone interview on Monday.
“I forecast that it [will] not grow much in the short term,” he added.
For the six months under review, WBHO declared a dividend of 110c a share.
