The strong result was on the back of $104.3 million in revenue for the December half, which was achieved despite three of Brierty’s resources clients deferring their contracts in November due to changes in the economy.Brierty chief executive Stuart Crofts said the current market conditions are still clearly challenging and it is difficult to predict the operating environment in the time ahead.”We will see softer economic conditions in the second half as a result of the global economic slowdown,” he said. He said he expected Brierty’s markets to remain challenging going into the 2010 financial year. “That said, there are still many opportunities in the pipeline, and, given our strong client relationships built over 27 years in the industry, we feel confident about our ability to secure new contracts and to grow our order book,” Crofts said. Crofts said the first half result demonstrated that Brierty had bounced back quickly from the disappointing 2008 financial year. Major projects for Brierty during the December half included work for Fortescue Metals Group on its Pilbara iron ore operations, BHP Billiton at Newman, and Main Roads WA on the upgrade of the Great Northern Highway. The projects helped raise Brierty’s level of contracted revenue for FY09 to more than $180 million. The company expects some additional revenue will be realised in the second half. “We expect to see continued strong demand for services in infrastructure, especially given strong government support for infrastructure investment through the economic downturn. “We also see potential in further strategic relationships such as the alliance with Urban Pacific that is taking Brierty into the Northern Territory with an opportunity to build a sustainable business off the back of a long-term contract.”
