Lendlease's profit slumps on tough year

Lendlease Group's (ASX: LLC) engineering business performed dreadfully and is being sold.

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This morning Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC) released its results for the financial year ending June 30, 2019. Below is a summary of the results with comparisons to the prior year. 

  • Net profit $467.7 million, down 41%
  • Sales of $16,538, down 0.1%
  • Earnings per share 82.4c
  • Unfranked final dividend 30cps, full year dividends 42cps
  • Return on equity 7.4%
  • Core businesses produced a profit after tax of $804m, (ROE 12.8%)
  • Engineering & services business (non core) loss of $337m, sale process underway
  • Gearing at 9.9%

FY 2019 was a tough year for Lendlease as its core businesses of construction, development and investments saw profit fall around 16% to $804 million, but still produced a respectable return on equity of 12.8%.

The group also reports its core business is positioned to grow with a record pipeline of development projects and $3 billion in available liquidity to finance opportunities. 

The worst part of the year was the underperformance of its 'engineering and services' business that swung to a $337 million loss and is now up for sale with Lendlease reporting strong buyer interest.

It has also flagged $450 million to $550 million in pre-tax restructuring costs as a result of the problems, although this amount excludes any proceeds from the sale.

The shares are down around 35% over the past year and at $13.54 sell for 16.4x FY 2019's earnings with a 3.1% dividend yield.

The group declined to provide any specific financial guidance for FY 2020.

Motley Fool contributor Tom Richardson has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

You can find Tom on Twitter @tommyr345

The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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