Cashbuild says that revenue for the second quarter of 2009 has increased by 8% on the second quarter of the prior financial year.

About 25 emerging building contractors have staged a sit-in at the Cacadu District Municipality’s housing offices in Port Elizabethf due to a salary dispute.

The new Livingstone Hospital accident and emergency centre and the Gelvandale training stadium are nearing completion.

World Cup-related construction works are contributing to an at least 20% increase in claims against the Road Accident Fund, a company that processes claims said on Wednesday.

The organisation is processing roughly 20% more claims against the RAF in 2009 than in previous years, primarily due to roadwork-related accidents, chief executive of RoadCover Eugene Beck said in a statement.

“Hotspots” include Johannesburg’s Gillooly’s interchange and William Nicol Drive, and the N2 in Cape Town.

More needed to be done to improve safety for drivers and non-motorists at major roadworks, he said.

Poor signage, makeshift concrete barriers, sudden changes in direction of temporary roads and narrower than normal lanes were cited as some of the reasons for accidents at these points.

“Signage at many sites is not geared for 24-hour visibility, with night visibility a particular problem.”

There is no policing at these sites where many motorists don’t slow down, or if they do, see it as a chance to use their cellphones, he said.

The increase in the number of injuries and deaths at roadworks in South Africa is consistent with the trend in other parts of the world.

According to the latest US statistics by the Federal Highway Administration, the number of people killed annually in motor vehicle crashes in roadwork zones has increased 45% over the last 10 years.

“The national roadworks in the run-up to 2010 are necessary in order to improve and elevate our public infrastructure to international standards, but more needs to be done from both a safety and law enforcement perspective in order to protect all road users against accidents,” he said.

An RAF spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

Raubex’s operating profit rise 10,6% to R440m in the six months to August, with the road construction earnings up 10,2% to 159,4c compared to the first half.

Strong government infrastructure spend saw Raubex Group’s operating profit rise 10,6% to R440m in the six months to August, with the road construction group’s headline earnings per share up 10,2% to 159,4c compared to the first half.

In an interim results statement, Raubex Group predicted “a strong performance in the second half” after reporting first-half revenues of R2,27bn, a rise of 1,8% from the corresponding period last year.

Declaring an interim dividend of 35c per share, Raubex reported a “stable” order book of R5,2bn, up from R4,9bn in the first half.

Profit before tax increased 11,4% to R429m from the corresponding period last year, with the group’s operating margin up from 17,8% in the first half to 19,4%.

Francois Diedrechsen, financial and commercial director of Raubex, said: “It’s a pleasing set of results — the world’s been in a fairly difficult period over the last six months, but we’ve still managed to achieve double-digit growth. We primarily operate in road infrastructure, which is government-driven business, so our exposure to the private sector is reasonably small, which has stood us well.”

Raubex’s road rehabilitation division, Roadmac, recorded a 19,9% fall in turnover to R944m from the first half, although it remained the largest contributor to group revenues. The division’s operating profit decreased 9,8% from the first half to R198,2m.

Raubex blamed the decline on “a change in the segmental mix as Roadmac’s resources are being deployed on various contracts in Namibia and Zambia, increased competition resulting in a lower rate of tender successes … as well as the effect of rise and fall clauses as declining input costs were passed on to the clients.”

Diedrechsen said “40% of Roadmac’s costs are oil price- related; a lot of the tenders we reported on were when oil prices were much higher, before the subsequent deflationary period”.

He also cited the appreciation of the rand against the Zambian currency, the kwacha, as affecting the group’s cash flow.

The statement said “in order to secure new work locally, current operating margins in the Roadmac and Raubex divisions will continue to be adjusted to account for the increased competition, particularly in the light road surfacing sector”.

Construction group Aveng said its two-year order book had increased to R31,3bn at the end of last month compared with R30,4bn in June.

The town of Meyerton in the south of Gauteng is set to benefit from a decision by the Midvaal Local Municipality to establish a development corridor along the R59 freeway.

Certain elements of infrastructure construction will pick up from the fourth quarter as the 2010 World Cup projects accelerate and near completion.

Aveng faced a collusion probe earlier this year, now it is cited as one of the accused in a further competition commission probe into the construction industry.

Cashbuild, which is reaping rewards for opening stores in rural areas, expects to spend R200m on opening 10 new stores and refurbishing old ones.