WBHO makes strong return, warns of potential contractor shortage for IPP jobs
Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) is back, “and we are back on a very strong footing”, says CEO Wolfgang Neff.
“We had an exceptional year in a difficult period.”
The construction group earlier this month released its results for the financial year ended June 30.
Neff said he was “very relieved” that Australia was now firmly in the rear-view mirror, with the group exiting the market Down Under following a disastrous roads project.
WBHO is now active in the local, rest of Africa and UK markets.
The proof of WBHO’s return to health could be found in its order book, which was up 43% for the year ended June 30, compared with the previous year, at R32.6-billion.
“We believe the group is set well for the short to medium term,” said Neff.
The order book was boosted by private- sector renewable-energy projects, projects in the rest of Africa, as well as a surge in roads projects.
The pipeline in terms of projects by independent power producers (IPPs) “is huge; it sits at R45-billion”, commented Neff. “In my view, there will not be enough contractors to do that work.”
The R45-billion refers to projects WBHO has identified as contracts it is likely to bid on, with work to start in the next 24 months, and specifically under the heading ‘energy infrastructure’.
The group’s total pipeline is valued at R212-billion.
More evidence of WBHO’s return to a steady footing could be found in the fact that it added 2 750 jobs in the year under review.
WBHO saw revenue for the year increase by 38% to R24-billion, with operating profit before nontrading items at R1.1-billion, up from R859-million.
About 66% of revenue came from South Africa, 13% from the rest of Africa and 21% from the UK.
In terms of operating profit, 70% flowed from South Africa, 20% from the rest of Africa and 10% from the UK.
Russell-WBHO acted as a drag on UK profit, with WBHO’s total UK business showing a 26% decline in operating profit, to R117-million.
All other business units reported a healthy increase in operating profit.
Looking ahead, Neff said the UK market was stabilising after a period of high inflation, while WBHO would continue to diversify into new African territories to support regional growth.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation