WBHO FY profit up 9 pct, sees difficult 2011

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters)

South African construction firm WBHO WBOJ.J posted a 9 percent rise in full-year earnings on Monday, but remained cautious on its outlook due to uncertainty about the global economy. Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon Ltd (WBHO), a major builder in South Africa, said its headline EPS totalled 1,741.4 cents in the year to end-June, up from 1,605.3 cents a year earlier.

Headline EPS is the main profit gauge in South Africa and strips out certain one-time items. The group said its order book stood at 12.1 billion rand ($1.63 billion), after being inflated for two years due to long-term nature of large 2010 projects, versus 15.3 billion rand for the year to end-June 2009.

WBHO also said it would pay a final dividend of 220 cents, compared with 200 cents a year earlier. The South African construction industry has largely been shielded from the economic downturn by big infrastructure projects related to the 2010 soccer World Cup. But companies will need to replenish their order books quickly, as projects are now being delayed or suspended due to lack of funds.

Shares in WBHO, which has risen 3.94 percent this year, dropped 0.68 percent to 111.72 rand by 0812 GMT, roughly in line with Johannesburg's index of construction stocks .JCONM, which was flat.

Smaller rival Group Five GRFJ.J said last month it expects growth to slow in the year ahead after public sector and commodity-related projects helped lift full-year earnings by 10 percent.

Africa's biggest construction group by market value, Aveng AEGJ.J, expects its full-year earnings to fall by as much as 15 percent.