Monday 11 April 2011

Leighton picture as solid as a mirage in the Dubai desert

WITH the flick of an auditor's quill, Leighton's vaunted $480 million full-year profit -- as guided in late February -- will morph into a $427m loss.

That's the magic of the construction and contracting giant's game for you: one or two contract snafus among a $45 billion book and the earnings picture becomes as solid as a shimmering mirage in the deserts outside Dubai.

One doesn't need to be a maths genius to discern that, in effect, Leighton has revealed $907m of post-tax writedowns (or, in the case of the Queensland Airport Link and Victorian desal projects, a write-back of expected profits)

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