Dive Brief:
- Australian contractor and developer Lendlease reported a $68 million ($99 million Australian dollars) loss after taxes for its full fiscal year ending June 30. Profit dropped from $153 million a year ago, according to the company.
- The full year numbers show a recovery from the first half of its fiscal 2022, when the firm reported $182 million in losses. At the time, CEO Tony Lombardo called 2022 a “reset year.” Earnings in construction and development both dropped in the fiscal year — by 24% and 61%, respectively — though earnings from investments were up 80%.
- The company lowered its outlook for its construction segment, saying it expects margins of 1.5% to 2.5% for fiscal 2023, lower than its usual 2% to 3% range.
Dive Insight:
Lendlease largely attributed its uneven performance to lasting impacts from the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic, restructuring and pulling out of non-core work.
Lombardo highlighted Lendlease’s investments and work in progress.
“We made significant progress in resetting our company for future growth,” he said in the report. “We are now a leaner organization and more agile in responding to our customers.”
Construction backlog fell to $7.2 billion from $7.8 billion the year before. The company said its future work is diversified by client and sector, though remains largely dominated by Australia-based projects. The pandemic and Lendlease’s choice to “remain disciplined in bidding work” meant backlog in the U.S. and beyond was below past levels.
Lendlease also reported $80.5 billion in the development pipeline across 47 projects.
The company is still working with Google on a major San Francisco Bay Area Project, which will see the company develop and construct four major neighborhoods into 15 million square feet of office, residential, retail, hospitality and community development space. With expected completion in 2038, the project is valued at approximately $15 billion, according to Lendlease.
