Lendlease sees dip in first half profit

Lendlease said its construction arm had put in a “solid performance” as it announced an 11% dip in pre-tax profit for the six months to 31 December 2019.

Chief executive Steve MCann said the group’s construction operation posted revenues of A$4.3bn (£2.2bn), in line with expectations, and delivered a 2.3% margin, up from 2.1% year-on-year.

The firm, which is currently working on the £8bn Thamesmead residential scheme in south east London with housing association Peabody, said overall pre-tax profit for the period came in at A$403m (£208m).

Total turnover dipped 8% to A$5.6bn (£2.9bn), according to the group, which is also working on Google’s headquarters in London’s King’s Cross district and the Timberyard residential development in the Deptford area of the capital.

In December Lendlease agreed to offload its troubled engineering business to Acciona Infrastructure Asia Pacific for A$180m (£93m).

Lendlease’s engineering arm had helped drag down its performance in 2018, and 12 months ago was deemed to be no longer required by the firm. McCann said the proposed sale was “an important milestone” which would enable the group to focus on its core operations.

The sale, which excludes Lendlease’s work on the problem Melbourne metro tunnel project, is expected to complete in the second half of the firm’s financial year.

The group’s overall order book was reported at A$14bn (£7.2bn), while its development pipeline rose by a third to A$112bn (£58bn).

Lendlease will announce its annual results on 17 August.