Construction group faces big challenge

Aveng hurt by economic slowdown

Construction and engineering group Aveng (AEG) yesterday said that in line with the economic slowdown experienced in the group’s key markets the company continued to experience difficult trading conditions.

“The headwinds experienced in the first half of 2014 continued to constrain the construction market in the second half of the year,” Aveng chief executive Kobus Verster said.

“Increased competition in the Australian and Asian markets‚ coupled with lower commodity prices globally, resulted in declining opportunities.”

Aveng‚ which has the biggest turnover among construction groups on the JSE‚ said headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended December fell 58% to 34.5c compared with the year-earlier period.

Revenue fell by 14% to R23.9-billion while the company’s two-year order book‚ excluding Electrix‚ remained flat at R32.5-billion.