Profits rebound at Leighton

Australia’s Leighton Holdings Limited has announced a net profit after tax for the nine months ended 30 September 2012 of AU$ 317 million (US$ 332 million), compared to a loss after tax of AU$ -325 million (US$ -340 million) at the same point in 2011.

The company posted total revenue of AU$ 169 billion (US$ 17.7 billion) for the first three quarters of 2012, an increase of +6% on 2011 figures for the same period, which came in at AU$ 15.84 billion (US$ 16.6 billion).

The Australian contractor’s results were further bolstered by a growth in backlog of +3%, taking it to AU$ 45.3 billion (US$ 47.5 billion), up from AU$ 43.9 billion (US$ 46 billion) of value of work in hand at the end of the third quarter in 2011.

Commenting on the results, CEO, Hamish Tyrwhitt said that the group was continuing to deliver solid operating results, make progress on legacy issues, and advance its strategy to “stabilise, rebase and grow” the business.

“In the three months to September 2012, we completed Airport Link and substantially advanced the Victorian Desalination Project with the granting of Preliminary Commercial Acceptance following commissioning of stream one. We [have] completed testing on stream two and we remain on target for hand-over by the end of this year,” he commented.

Mr Tyrwhitt went on to add that while conditions were challenging in the Middle East, the Habtoor Leighton Group was awarded a number of new projects, including construction of a People Mover System in Qatar and a medical centre in Saudi Arabia.