CAPE TOWN - WBHO, once a darling among construction companies, said yesterday headline earnings per share could fall between 30-40 percent in the year to June 30 after a project in Melbourne Australia soured.
The share price tumbled 4.1 percent to R103.11 per share by early Monday afternoon, a large drop for a company that has managed to keep its share price relatively steady in the face of dramatic slumps in the share prices of peers that once dominated.
“The forecast loss position on the Western Roads Upgrade (WRU) project in Melbourne Australia...has negatively affected the operating performance of the group in the current financial year,” WBHO management said in a trading statement on Monday.
The retirement of its executive chairman Mike Wylie was also announced. After 45 years, he would retire at the annual general to be held on November 20, a statement said,
CEO Louwtjie Nel was appointed executive chairman to “ensure the constructive and effective relationship between the board and executive management continues.”
Wolfgang Neff, who joined WBHO 22 years ago and was MD of the North and Africa Building divisions for 7 years, would replace Louwtjie as CEO. The full results are expected to be released on September 3, 2019.