AusGroup inks A$1.1m profit for Q2, sees return to profitability continuing

AUSGROUP swung into a net profit of A$1.09 million (S$1.8 million) for the fiscal second quarter ended Dec 31, 2016, from a net loss of A$69.77 million in the year-ago period.

The 13.5 per cent year-on-year decline in revenue to A$106.3 million, mainly due to the completion of a key contract in the maintenance business in the quarter ended March 2016, was offset by lower costs and an absence of impairment on receivables.

But that was not enough to keep it in the black for the first-half period, though the net loss narrowed to A$1.07 million from A$69.29 million.

The group said the results reflect the performance from its core projects in the Northern Territory and Western Australia oil and gas sector, with profitability returning to more normalised levels following the re-structuring of the business completed in FY2016.

The half-year net loss of A$1.07 million when compared to the adjusted H1 2016 results, removing unusual items such as the impairments and one-off restructuring costs of A$62.4 million, shows an improvement of A$5.8 million.

"It is expected that the return to profitability will continue through the next half of FY2017 and into FY2018 and FY2019 as our core projects grow in scale and complexity, providing opportunities for organic growth," it said.

AusGroup provides a range of asset maintenance,construction, access services, fabrication and marine services to the energy and industrial sectors across Australia and South-east Asia.