Murray & Roberts Holdings said yesterday it expected its headline loss a share to improve by between 90% and 94% for the year to June 30, following an improved financial performance for continuing operations.
The JSE-listed South Africa-based international specialised construction and engineering group said in a trading statement that the improvement was also at an attributable earnings level which, for the prior year, included losses associated with the deconsolidation of the Australian businesses.
The headline loss per share was expected to be between 47 –27 cents per share versus the 473 cents loss a share in the 2023 financial year.
The group said the voluntary administration of the group's Australian businesses in December 2022 and the loss of dividend flows from these businesses created severe liquidity constraints during the year.
Much effort went into rightsizing cost structures towards creating financial stability.
“We redesigned the operating model and management structure, and reduced overhead costs, including in the corporate office. It is expected that a saving in corporate costs of more than R100 million per annum, when compared to 2023, will be realised from the 2025 financial years.”
A deleveraging plan implemented with South African banks saw the group reduce debt from about R2 billion in April 2023, to R409m. The group continued to engage with banks regarding the repayment of the remaining debt and it remained committed to refinancing this debt.
During the year, the group moved from a net debt position to a net cash position, grew earnings and increased its order book.
“We are looking forward to the 2025 financial year, as the first year of a re-engineered, revitalised and refocused Murray & Roberts,” director said.
They said mining businesses were well established and were expected to continue doing well over the short to medium term. OptiPower was expected to deliver a modest earnings contribution as from 2025, by capitalising on Eskom’s transmission build-out plans.
OptiPower, a trading division of Murray & Roberts, in joint venture with Coxabengoa, was this month awarded a R1.2bn contract to construct a 100MWp solar photovoltaic renewable energy facility in the North West Province for a South African mining company.
“The group is positioned to pursue opportunities for growth, mostly through its international mining businesses and our expectation is to see the group returning to pre-pandemic levels of earnings from the 2027 financial year,” the group directors predicted.
The share price was trading 0.34% lower at R3.17 on the JSE yesterday afternoon, well up from only 69 cents at the same time last year.
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