Ausenco profits, shares plunge
Ausenco Limited (AAX) shares plummeted Thursday morning after saying it was expecting an after tax loss of between $9 and $13 million for the first six months of 2010. However, the company said post-tax profit was expected to be between $13 and $18 million by the end of the year.
The company said the predicted first half loss doesn’t include any possible impairment on goodwill.
CEO, Zimi Meka, said Ausenco had experienced lower first half EBITDA and cash flows from later than anticipated project starts, higher comparable foreign exchange rates and lower than historic resource utilisation rates.
”This has resulted in a significantly lower 2010 first half earnings result,” Mr Meka said.
Mr Meka said that around 50% of the company’s debt was denominated in USD, making repayments more expensive in AUD terms as the dollar slides.
Looking to the second half of the year, the company said it expected 15% to 20% revenue growth in the second half of 2010, largely the result of utilising existing resource capacity to deliver secured projects and optimising the performance of underperforming offices.
Mr Meka also added that the failure of the Copenhagen climate talks and no meaningful greenhouse gas emissions targets would impact the company’s energy business.
At 1054 AEST, Ausenco shares were trading down 46c to $2.56.
Leave a Reply