Brierty sees upside, despite downgrade

Civil and mining contractor Brierty has warned its full-year profit is likely to stone crushing plant manufacturersbe significantly less than expected because of a dispute over contract payments with two customers and write offs in work in progress on other projects.

The company said following a review of its contracting book last week, it expected full year net profit after tax would be in the range of break even to $750,000. This compares with previous guidance of $5 million. Brierty said the disputes would be resolved via formal arbitration but it had decided to adopt a conservative position and make appropriate writedowns. However the company said it believed it was in a strong position in relation to the disputed amounts and would continue to pursue its full entitlements. Brierty's recently appointed chief executive Peter McBain said the company was poised for very strong revenue and earnings growth in 2012, with budgeted revenue for the year of $250 million...