Geotechnical engineering specialist Esor on Wednesday reported a threefold increase in revenue to R1bn for the year to February as it benefited from commercial and government infrastructure spend and a building upsurge in Angola and Mauritius.

CEO Bernie Krone said today’s buoyant construction market was the primary driver for the group’s organic growth.

“The Gautrain continues to be a major contributor. We have R400m worth of work for the high- speed train which will be world class, with 14 months’ worth of work,” Krone said.

Of the R420m worth of projects secured, R170m was completed during the year.

“The Gautrain … is stimulating major development within the radius of its stations’ use areas, which will dramatically alter the urban landscape and further boost the construction industry beyond 2010.” The many new developments in the pipeline included high-rise offices, hotels and retail and commercial building projects.

The group has completed piling projects for Airports Company SA at the new King Shaka and Cape Town International Airports and contracts for piling, pedestrian culvert jacking and lateral support at OR Tambo International Airport.

Work on stadiums for the 2010 World Cup has been completed at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and Port Elizabeth Stadium.

Profit came in at R116m from R34m a year before.

Headline earnings per share jumped 240% to R115m, equating to 51,3c per share while net asset value per share increased 46% from 109,8c per share to 160,3c.

The group declared a final dividend of 20c per share for the year for a total of R49,6m.

Krone said the group was entrenching its presence in Africa, building on subsidiary Franki’s foothold in oil-rich Angola. Contracts for piling, lateral support and marine works projects were completed during the year.

Stringent cost control kept operating margins steady despite the negative effect on the group of unusually abundant December rains.

“We did see a slight decrease in margins in the final quarter of the year since excessive rain in Gauteng slowed down projects before and after our year-end break.

“However, a stricter focus on operational efficiencies and aggressive investment in plant helped keep margins on a par with last year,” Krone said.

Esor invested R147,5m in new equipment during the year.

Krone said the current year would be an acquisitive one, but the group would look only at companies that made good business sense and in the geotechnical engineering sector.

Civil engineering contractor Esor has scored more than R500m from government's increased spending on infrastructure for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

CEO Bernie Krone said new contracts, including the Gautrain project and the upgrading of the OR Tambo Airport, had swelled the company's order book by R580m, putting Esor firmly on track to achieve targeted growth for the new financial year starting this month.

"We intend leveraging our new directors' network and industry knowledge to drive growth and position the group as a favourite contender for infrastructure contracts," Krone said.

The group has to date tendered for Gautrain contracts to the value of R365m, of which R80m has been secured in two piling projects.

"We are still awaiting a decision on the remaining tenders and are confident of our prospects in this regard," he said.

Other new contracts include R80m worth of contracts for the Airports Company of SA, in line with its R5,2bn intended outlay between 2005 and 2009. Esor has already completed the upgrades at the OR Tambo International Airport and is now extending the Cape Town International Airport.

"Following Esor's completion of the Ushaka Pier marine project, the group is now aligned with the preferred bidder for the Ushaka airport in Durban," said Krone.