4 Feb 2014

NZ arm stars for Downer EDI

12:46 pm on 4 February 2014

The New Zealand arm of Downer EDI was the shining light of the company's first half.

The Australian-listed infrastructure company reported a rise of 5 percent in group profit to more than 99 million Australian dollars for the six months ended December.

However, revenue fell 17 percent to $3.8 billion. And operating profit fell more than 5.4 percent to $160 million, which the company says is largely due to reduced levels of activity in Australia.

All three of Downer's divisions - infrastructure, mining and rail - delivered lower revenue, except in New Zealand.

Downer has more than 4500 employees in New Zealand and is one of the largest road infrastructure services businesses on both sides of the Tasman, maintaining more than 32,000km of road in this country.

And it derives a substantial portion of revenue in this country from the government, including the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Downer Infrastructure's New Zealand business increased revenue by 11.5 percent to $A535 million for the period.

And the operating profit for that business almost doubled to more than $31 million.

Downer is a member of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team which is rebuilding Christchurch's earthquake-damaged roads, sewerage, water supply pipes and parks.

And it's a major supplier to Chorus, Vodafone and Telecom.