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| GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS CONTINUED |
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| PROSPECTS |
Murray & Roberts believes that profitable opportunity
drives capacity and that industry sector leaders play a
key role in this process. Supporting our status as
construction industry leader, the directors of Murray &
Roberts have approved a number of investment initiatives
driven by management that will ensure group and
industry capacity to meet the complex and growing
demands of our market over the foreseeable future.
We have experienced the pressure of high staff turnover
and a skills deficit in the market throughout the year,
particularly in construction & engineering. Notwithstanding, our global brand strength and major projects
portfolio has allowed us to recruit or relocate the majority
of resources we have needed onto our projects.
I am confident our various operations have positioned
themselves for the market opportunity that lies ahead.
But the construction industry is notoriously unforgiving in
the two key criteria for success - winning work and
delivering projects. Murray & Roberts chooses to engage
the major and specialist project market where the cost
and energy of tender preparation is such that a success
rate of two in three is the benchmark. For the more
general market this reduces to one in six and in some
commoditised sectors, one in ten.
Success comes primarily through our risk management,
planning, partner selection and innovation for cost
competitive tendering, and through our corporate and
project leadership, skills capacity and systems in
project delivery.
We expect the Eskom power generation build program to
commence in earnest during the coming year. Murray &
Roberts is well positioned to play a key role in many of its
aspects and we have established a focused capability to
ensure our competence in this respect.
But where major and complex projects become the order
of the day, organisational critical mass remains an important
differentiator for success in our market, just as it was in
1967. Global scale for global projects and investment
programs remains a challenge in our industry sector, where
the majority of players are small relative to risk and
impediments to consolidation on a national level are high.
There is every indication that a new wave of natural
resource driven opportunities will arise from the rest of
Africa. We will develop our strategy for engaging this
market and its associated risks during the year ahead.
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| APPRECIATION |
I started this report with the statement that Murray &
Roberts is a great company with great and committed
leadership and people. The performance of our Group
over the past few years is testament to this fact and apart
from just a few areas of concern brought about by the
rapid changes and growth we have experienced in our
industry, this year in particular is the result of another
exceptional contribution by our leadership and people.
Construction is an unforgiving industry sector, with no
opportunity to rest on one's laurels. Success requires
constant and total commitment. I acknowledge the
significant contribution of that great majority of our people
who do not work in office environments, but who make
it happen every day on our more than 200 production
and project worksites spread over more than 10 countries
around the world.
Many new people have joined our Group in the year.
We welcome you all and wish you an exciting and
rewarding career in Murray & Roberts. Many have also
left for a variety of reasons, and we wish you well in
your new ventures.
For those who left through the disposal of our foundries
business, thank you all, but especially those with long
service to the Group.
I am pleased to record the appointment of Malose Chaba
as chief executive of the engineering contracting &
services cluster. He will also be responsible for the power
generation market.
I extend my appreciation to our chairman, my fellow
directors and our executive leadership team, who served
diligently through the year on the key group and
operational boards that govern our domestic and
international conduct and performance. I welcome Yunus
Karodia in his new role as company secretary and group
financial manager, where he has already made a
significant difference.
In particular, I acknowledge and thank my close
colleagues and partners, Keith Smith, Sean Flanagan and
Roger Rees who have carried a significant load with
me through what has been a challenging year in so
many dimensions. |
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| Brian Bruce |
| Group chief executive |
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Leadership reports