WBHO newly appointed chairperson Louwtjie Nel
Photo by: Creamer Media
Construction engineering company Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO) has appointed CEO Louwtjie Nel as executive chairperson to succeed Mike Wylie, who plans to retire in November.
WBHO said Nel’s appointment as chairperson would ensure that the constructive and effective relationship between the board and executive management continued.
In turn, Wolfgang Neff would succeed Nel as CEO. He has been MD of WBHO’s North and Africa building divisions for the last seven years.
Meanwhile, the company advised that its headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the financial year ended June 30, were likely to be between 30% and 40%, or between 849c and 990c, lower than the HEPS of R14.14 reported for the year ended June 30, 2018.
WBHO said a forecast loss position on the Western Roads Upgrade project, in Australia, had negatively affected the operating performance of the group in the financial year.
Engineering News Online previously reported that the botched roads project had resulted in WBHO’s operating profit for the six months ended December 31, 2018, nosediving to R3-million, from R510-million in the prior half-year period.
WBHO was the lead contractor responsible for delivering the project to a concession company.
Nel previously stated that the loss related to the interpretation of the project’s technical specification, which resulted in the underestimation of the physical work required to meet the output specifications of the contract.
The company will release its results on September 3.