South African hope

摘要

An illustration of how gloomy the South African construction environment has become was given by contractor Basil Read's warning to warn shareholders that it expected headline earnings per share for the six months to June to fall some 270%. Other construction companies such as WG Wearne and Esor have also reported weak results. "There is still overcapacity in the market, capacity was built leading up to the World Cup 2010," said Stanlib Industrials Analyst Anashrin Pillay. "There's a lack of major projects coming to the market, makingthe operating environment more competitive - no new power stations, road projects etcetera." This, he says, left firms with limited pricing power asthey josded for thin-on-the ground projects.