Global infrastructure and resources group Aveng’s Australian subsidiary, McConnell Dowell, continues to trade profitably and in line with expectations, and has met its budget for the first quarter of the financial year, Aveng has creported.

The announcement follows the revelation that McConnell Dowell has been awarded new orders valued at A$535-million since June 30.

With these awards, McConnell Dowell’s two-year order book now stands at A$1.4-billion, marking a 26% increase on the order book since June.

The awards include the Mordialloc bypass and Echuca-Moama bridge projects, in Australia, as well as the Westland Milk bypass, in New Zealand, and the Modbury Hospital.

McConnell Dowell had now secured 90% of the budgeted revenue for the current financial year. The awards meant that good progress had been made towards securing orders to meet revenue requirements beyond the current financial year, Aveng reported.

Additionally, McConnell Dowell has more than A$1-billion worth of projects in preferred status.

Aveng further reported that the markets in which McConnell Dowell operated “remain supportive of the medium-term growth objectives”, adding that the subsidiary’s management would “continue to exercise discipline” in terms of selecting opportunities on which to tender.

In the South African market, meanwhile, Aveng subsidiary surface mining contractor Moolmans has been able to secure a further contract extension at the Nkomati mine since June 30.

As a result, only 92% of the 2020 financial year’s budgeted revenues has been secured.

Aveng last week said the renegotiation of certain contracts, together with the other aspects of the group-led intervention, as outlined in the yearly results announcement in August, was yielding positive results.

According to Aveng, the business returned to profit during the first quarter of its current financial year and had met budget expectations, which “provides a strong underpin to the expected return to profit for the full financial year”.

Moolmans’ management continues to focus on further improving operational performance and pursuing selected new opportunities to meet its budgeted performance in the 2021 and 2022 financial years.

Further, Aveng said it expected to finalise the disposal of all noncore businesses during the course of the current financial year.

Discussions with potential buyers for the remaining noncore businesses of Aveng Trident Steel and Aveng ACS were continuing, while, subsequent to last week’s announcement, the Competition Commission had granted approval for the sale of the Grinaker-LTA Building & Civil Engineering business.