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Johannesburg - Civil engineering and building construction group Stefanutti Stocks shares soared by almost 10% after it released "once in a lifetime" results for the year to end-February on Tuesday.
The group reported diluted headline earnings per share of 174.57c, up from 99.23c. Operating profit increased 113% to R392.2m, along with revenue up 144% to R6.2bn.
A final dividend of 58c/share was declared.
Stefanutti Stocks CE Willie Meyburgh said he was pleased, but warned that "you only record results like these once in your lifetime".
Stephen Meintjes, head of research at stockbroker Imara SP Reid, concurred, saying he was impressed. Late Tuesday afternoon Stefanutti Stocks shares were trading at 850c, up 9.68%, for the day.
Stefanutti Stocks listed on the JSE in August 2007, as Stefanutti & Bressan. The group changed its name in September 2008 to Stefanutti Stocks, after it bought construction group Stocks for R1.1bn.
Finance a problem in ME
The group operates in Southern Africa and the Gulf. It is involved in concrete structures, marine construction, geotechnical services, earthworks, opencast contract mining, building works, electrical and power-line construction.
Although the latest results are somewhat of an anomaly due to a seven-month contribution from Stocks, Meyburgh is adamant that the company will still see growth. He warned, however, that "here is less work, the competition is greater and margins are lower".
The Middle East contributes 10% to the company's overall earnings and Meyburgh said there are still opportunities in the region, especially in Bahrain, Oman and Abu Dhabi.
"Opportunities are still on the cards; the only concern is getting finance in the current economic climate," said Meyburgh. "But our order book does not show a lot of movement - it was R6.4bn in February and R6.8bn two months later. This is quite promising."
According to analyst Sasha Naryshkine of Vestact, the future of the construction industry remains clouded. "It's a question of whether companies can capitalise on their order books. If I were to invest, Stefanutti would be top of the pile."
- Fin24.com
