Civil engineering and building company Wilson Bayley Holmes - Ovcon (WBO) on Tuesday reported diluted headline earnings per share of 836.7 cents for the six months ended December 2009 from 704.4 cents a year ago.

An interim dividend of 110 cents per ordinary share has been declared, up from 100 cents per share.

The group produced a solid set of results in line with the trading statement published on 10 February.

Headline earnings increased by 18.5% to R460 million, while revenue for the period increased by 12.1% to R7.6 billion.

Operating profit before non-trading items increased by 20.5% to R604 million.

To date the group has spent R87 million of the R244 million capital expenditure approved.

In October 2009 the group increased its stake in Probuild Constructions in Australia from 62.6% to 69.4% and the transaction resulted in an increase in goodwill of R61 million.

"We are proud to have been part of the handover of three stadia for the 2010 World Cup six months ahead of the event.

"This is a tribute to the capability of the South African construction industry," the company said.

The group said its building and civil engineering divisions had a successful 6 months increasing both revenue and profit.

At the outset of 2010 the division has an order book of R9.9 billion.

The Civil division has had a steady 6 months and following a recent increase in tendering activity the outlook for the division is positive.

In Australia Probuild has experienced reasonable growth in revenue and profit when compared to the first 6 months of last year. The majority of its work is in Melbourne.

The Roads and Earthworks division again produced commendable results achieving an operating profit of 291 million, up from 264 million in 2008.

Looking ahead, the group said globally there are signs that the recession is ending and that the economy is recovering as commodity prices move upward.

In South Africa business confidence is low and there is speculation that the rate of recovery will be slower than that of the USA and Europe.

"We have experienced a slowdown in the number of contracts awarded even though there has been a reasonable pipeline of work.

"The group has been successful in negotiating a number of building contracts based primarily on our client relationships and track record.

"We are encouraged that the budget speech indicated that there is still R846 billion available for infrastructure work," it said.

Australia has to a large extent escaped the global financial crisis, as a result work prospects remain promising and the company is tendering for work in the United Arab Emirates from its offices in Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Work in the region is competitive.

The order book at the beginning of 2010 is R13.1 billion compared to R15.3 billion at 30 June 2009.

"We remain cautious for the next two financial years, but believe that the group is well positioned to cope with the difficult environment we anticipate," it concluded.