Murray & Roberts expects to report smaller first-half loss

Engineering and contracting services firm Murray & Roberts expects its loss per share from continuing operations to narrow in the six months to December.

The JSE-listed group with a R524m market capitalisation is still picking up the pieces after suffering the loss of its Australian subsidiaries Clough and RUC Cementation Mining Contractors, which it has restated as discontinued operations.

M&R said on Thursday it expected to report a headline loss per share for continuing operations of 14c-19c for the first half of the 2024 financial year, an improvement on the restated 27c loss reported in the previous period.

M&R operates in several regions and has global expertise in shaft sinking, tunnelling, raise drilling, engineering, design and contract mining.

After the voluntary administration of the group’s Australian subsidiaries in December 2022, the company’s size was reduced and it now focuses on the international underground mining market and the renewable energy and power infrastructure markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Considering its reduced earnings base, M&R had to agree on a deleveraging plan to settle its debt in SA with a consortium of local banks. Through the plan, M&R has been able to reduce its remaining debt in SA to about R400m from about R2bn in April 2023.

“The final milestone in the deleveraging plan is to refinance this remaining debt by June 2024,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“The group has further made meaningful progress towards implementing a sustainable capital structure, which, after a thorough cost review, necessitated several cost rationalisation and restructuring decisions, which will be detailed in the publication of the group’s interim results.”

The company’s share price closed up 5% at R1.24 — its biggest gain in a week — on Thursday.

gumedemi@businesslive.co.za