Raubex Group sees welcome uptick in construction tender activity
RAUBEX Group, the roads, earthworks, infrastructure and materials group, recovered in the second half of the year to February 28 and its order book was at record levels, chief executive Rudolf Fourie said yesterday.
He said there had been an increase in tender activity – the group had picked up significant house building contracts, and also planned to be a part of the fifth bidding window of the renewable energy programme towards the end of the year, said Fourie.
Raubex operates across South Africa, Botswana, Cameroon, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Australia.
The order book was up sharply to R17.12 billion from R10.14bn, with a number of new bids being adjudicated.
The share price was up 4.32 percent to R25.75 yesterday morning, closing the day at R28 on the JSE.
The secured order book, a strong management team, supported by a healthy balance sheet, positioned Raubex well for the future, Fourie said in a telephone interview.
The full year results saw revenue rise only 1.3 percent to R8.9bn, while operating profit was down 24.1 percent to R364.5 million.
This, said Fourie, was mainly because the group effectively did not trade for three months due to the lockdowns of 2020.
The roads and earthworks division reported the highest turnover of the divisions for the year, but its profit contribution was small and much reduced, which Fourie said was due to lockdown pressures, and he anticipated revenue and margins to improve in the new financial year.
The contribution from the rest of Africa also doubled its losses, which Fourie said was from delays and Covid-19 restrictions that affected and delayed the construction primarily of a mall in Cameroon.
Headline earnings a share fell
49.4 percent to 81.9 cents.
Cash generated increased 68.2 percent to R1.33bn, and the cash balance stood at R1.89bn at year end. Net asset value increased to R4.67bn from R4.51bn.
A final dividend of 29c was declared, versus no dividend the previous year.
Fourie said they looked forward to the roll-out of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, as it would bring relief to the construction industry and create much-needed jobs.
On March 29, 2021, Raubex acquired 23.08 percent of the shares of listed mining company Bauba Resources for R54.7m, and Bauba would be equity accounted.
The acquisition afforded Raubex an opportunity to participate in materials handling and processing opportunities for Bauba’s open cast mining operations.