Austin Engineering ups the ante

Sydney, Feb 18, 2008 (ABN Newswire) - In a sea of missed forecasts and foregone expectations this interim reporting season, it's rare to find a company whose results have exceeded  market expectations.

Shares in engineering firm Austin Engineering rose by 6.8% to $2.80 on Monday after the company announced a record result for the six months ended 31 December 2007.

Austin said its revenue has nearly doubled – it hit $43.2 million, from the previous $29.3 million the previous corresponding period. 

In addition, the net profit of $4.7 million represented a 100% increase from the corresponding period a year ago.

The Brisbane-based firm also provided favourable outlook for the foreseeable future - both for new projects and 'repair and replace' work.

It said it is focusing on both short- and long-term opportunities for revenue growth.

"We expect to report strong increases in all the company's key financial measure for the full-year,' Chairman Peter Fitch said.

Austin said the current result was driven by improved performance across all businesses, and 'supported by high levels of industry activity and demand for Austin's JEC product range of dump truck bodies, excavator buckets and machining and steel fabrication services'.

"High demand for the company's products and constant improvements in productivity have created a stable earnings base and allowed Austin to deliver on its forecasts to the market," Fitch said.

ANG provides engineering services to the mining, oil and gas industries. It specialises in the supply and installation of metal products such as structural steel and piping, as well as products used in the resources industry such as dump truck bodies, excavator buckets and large service vehicles. Its operations are concentrated in Queensland and Western Australia.

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