Australia's back-on-track Leighton restores dividend

Feb 12, 2012, 23:29 GMT

Sydney - Leighton Holdings Ltd met forecasts Monday with an after-tax profit of 340 million Australian dollars (360 million US dollars) for the second half of 2011 on revenues of 12.2 billion Australian dollars.

Australia's biggest construction company restored its dividend, bringing to a close a troubled period in which the company posted its first loss in 25 years and changed its chief executive three times.

Leighton confirmed that it was expecting an underlying profit after tax of 600 million-650 million Australian dollars in the 12-month period to June 30, 2012.

'We remain committed to this guidance,' chief executive Hamish Tyrwhitt said in a statement to the stock exchange.

Leighton, which is shifting its financial year to accord with the calendar year, is 54-per-cent owned by Germany's Hochtief AG, which since May has been controlled by Spanish company ACS.

It declared a capital gain of 167 million Australian dollars after tax from the sale of its HWE Mining iron ore business on Australia's west coast and said it had taken write-downs on Habtoor Leighton Group in the Middle East and on the Brisbane Airport toll road project.

'The net gain after impairments of 68 million, when added to the operating profit after tax of 272 million, produced a reported profit after tax for the period of 340 million,' Tyrwhitt said.

He said the company had won new contracts worth 1.7 billion Australian dollars so far this year and had preferred positions on contracts worth another 6 billion Australian dollars.

'We have rebounded strongly to report a solid level of profitability during the period and this sets the group up for a positive 2012 year,' Tyrwhitt said.

Leighton has reported to the Australian Federal Police a possible code-of-ethics breach that might be against the law. The possible breach was related to construction work in Iraq carried out by a Leighton subsidiary, Leighton Offshore Pte Ltd.