Perth engineering companies GRD, Clough, and Lycopodium have reported higher profits in the past week, helped by growing international portfolios, which include projects in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Perth engineering companies GRD, Clough, and Lycopodium have reported higher profits in the past week, helped by growing international portfolios, which include projects in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
GRD is currently involved in two projects in Africa through its engineering construction arm, GRD Minproc.
The company, which reported a full-year net profit of $78.9 million last week, recently signed a contract with Resolute Mining Ltd’s subsidiary to perform engineering, procurement and construction management services for the company’s $149 million Syama gold mine project in Mali, Africa.
Last month, GRD Minproc completed the bankable feasibility study for uranium miner Paladin Resource’s 85 per cent owned Kayel-ekera uranium project in Malawi, and has also managed the design and construction of Paladin’s Langer Heinrich mine, which is currently being commissioned in Namibia.
Aside from its projects in Africa, GRD Minproc has been contracted to Brazilian giant CVRD’s $1.6 billion Niquel do Vermelho nickel project, which was partly deferred in November last year due to a problem obtaining environmental licences and permits.
The company is also involved in projects in New Zealand and Ghana.
For engineering and construction group Clough, refocusing on the oil and gas sector has paid off, with the company reporting a net profit of $10.7 million for the half year ending December 2006.
Clough’s chief executive, John Cooper, said the result was driven primarily by the company’s offshore oil and gas project performance.
After undergoing a major restructure last year, Clough has a new growth strategy, which was introduced to the board last month, aimed at increasing its profile as a major oil and gas player.
Clough is also trying to steer towards more high-value contracting work.
Last year, Mr Cooper said the company would be consolidating its activities and focusing on offshore oil and gas projects, including sub-sea work, to capture the large and emerging market in the sector.
In June last year, the company signed a contract with OMV New Zealand, worth about $200 million, to work on the $480 million Maari oil field development, providing engineering, procurement, construction and installation services.
Clough also signed an agreement with Apache Corporation in February 2006 to supply the specialist subsea construction vessel “Normand Clipper” for an initial term of two years in the Gulf of Mexico, worth about $40 million a year to the company.
Clough is aiming to become the leading field development contractor for small to medium-sized offshore oil and gas fields in the Australasian region.
Engineering consultancy Lycopodium has also reported an increased net profit, of $4.3 million, up 28 per cent on the same period one year before.
The company specialises in engineering, procurement and construction management-type contracts.
Listed in December 2004, Lycopodium has an office in Ghana and opened a new office in the Philippines during the 2005-06 financial year, to support its Australian design services and provide a base for future projects in the region.
