By Rhiannon Hoyle
SYDNEY--Cimic Group Ltd. (CIM.AU) on Thursday pared investor
payouts as it reported a 12% decline in first-half profit.
Cimic, Australia's biggest construction company, reported net
profit of 257.2 million Australian dollars (US$189.9 million), down
from A$291.3 million the year earlier. The decline followed the
sale of some businesses.
The company trimmed its interim dividend to 46 Australian cents
a share, from 57 cents the same time a year ago.
Cimic said asset sales and strong operating cash flow had
enabled it to pay down A$1 billion in debt, reducing gearing to
5.3% at June-end, from 12.1% three months earlier.
It said it had a pipeline of work worth A$28.5 billion at June
30.
Cimic is majority-owned by Germany's Hochtief AG (HOT.XE), which
is controlled by Spain's Actividades de Construcción y Servicios
S.A. (ASC.MC)
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires