Construction group Raubex says it has seen a “pleasing” 17% increase in its order book for the financial year ended February 28, to R20-billion, up from R17.1-billion in the previous year.

About R6.1-billion of this work is in Australia and the rest of Africa, up from R4.08-billion last year.

The group says its Infrastructure division is well positioned to participate in the South African government’s drive to increase power generation capacity, while the company has also seen an uptick in activity in the private renewables space with a number of tender submissions.

Raubex has, for example, signed a balance of plant engineering, procurement and construction contract for three wind-power generation plants in the Western Cape, with a combined value of R2.1-billion.

Reporting last week on its financial results for the 12 months ended February 28, Raubex says revenue increased by 32.2%, compared with the previous financial year, to R15.31-billion.

Operating profit jumped by 35%, to R1.28-billion.

“The group has delivered an exceptional set of results, with record earnings achieved from our diversified portfolio, reflecting solid execution of our strategy,” says Raubex group CEO Felicia Msiza.

“The performance is largely attributable to the successful completion of our flagship Beitbridge Border Post Project, a full-year contribution from Bauba, while South African Roads Agency Limited projects in KwaZulu-Natal gained momentum.

“The Western Australian operations contributed 19% to the group’s total operating profit, demonstrating the robust performance of these operations.”

Msiza notes, however, that the group’s performance for the year was not without its challenges, with the country, as well as the industries in which Raubex operates, facing “severe headwinds”.

“Looking ahead, our focus is on delivering excellent quality to our customers, securing additional high-margin infrastructure projects, containing costs and enhancing efficiencies, whilst building on our diversification strategy.”

Within Raubex, the Materials Handling and Mining division reported a 78.6% increase in revenue, to R2.88-billion, with operating profit increasing by 35.8%, to R168.6-million.

The Construction Materials division saw a marginal increase – 1.9% – in revenue, to R1.88-billion, while operating profit plummeted by 54.4%, to R81.5-million.

Revenue at the Roads and Earthworks division increased by 31.9%, to R6.04-billion, with the operating profit jumping by 91.3%, to R510.9-million.

Revenue at the Infrastructure division increased by 27.2%, to R4.51-billion, with operating profit up 37.3%, to R515.2-million.

The Rest of Africa business reported a 29.2% increase in revenue, to R1.99-billion, with operating profit more than doubling to R592-million.

In the Western Australia business, revenue increased by 53.9%, to R2.52-billion, while operating profit was 39.4% higher, at R247.4-million.