Six companies with strong track records servicing the mining/resources industries are the centrepiece of a new public float and proposed Australian Stock Exchange listing for which the initial public offer opens today. Diversified investment group, E & A Ltd, will have a market capitalisation of A$56 million upon listing (based on the public offer price of A$1 per share) with strong earnings growth forecast for the current 2007-08 financial year.
E & A Ltd comprises the following operating subsidiaries:- Equity & Advisory, Louminco, Whyalla Fabrications, Ottoway Engineering, Heavymech and Fabtech. The six separate 100%-owned businesses have a diverse client base including OneSteel, BHP Billiton, Xstrata, Alcan, Santos, Beach Petroleum, SA Water, Barwon Water, United Water and other state and government agencies.
"We have identified the services sector of the mining, resources, industrial, water and defence industries as having significant revenue and growth potential for at least the next five years and will continue to target businesses in these sectors for acquisition," E & A’s Executive Chairman, Mr Stephen Young, said. "Our acquisition strategy will be to focus primarily on South Australian based businesses and it will seek to make at least two acquisitions per annum," he said.
Young said each of the E & A Limited subsidiaries was a long-established business with strong profit history, positive cash flow and attractive growth prospects. Each is forecast to generate increased revenue in the current financial year. "We intend to grow group earnings both organically and through further acquisitions. E & A has to date focused on South Australian businesses as the private equity market is largely under-represented in that state and targets remain available for negotiated acquisition."
Young said E & A was targeting continued solid growth both organically and through additional acquisitions. For the current financial year to end June 2008, the company is expecting pro-forma operating revenue of A$92.2 million compared with A$82.2 million in 2006-07 and pro-forma earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of A$10.8 million – up from A$9 million in 2006-07.
Equity & Advisory is celebrating its tenth anniversary of providing a comprehensive range of corporate advisory services to industry and government. The firm has to date completed advisory mandates in respect of transactions whose combined value exceeds A$4 billion
Heavymech is an established provider of quality machining services to a wide variety of industries, including mining, earthmoving and power generation. While Louminco has for 28 years been a key provider of procurement, maintenance, engineering support and project management services to the industrial, mining, base metals, defence and power generation industries.
Ottoway Engineering is a pipe fabrication and installation business involving all aspects of turnkey project management including engineering, procurement, manufacture, fabrication, machining, installation and maintenance. Fabtech has grown from a rural based fabricator of rainwater tank liners to a leader in the provision of flexible geomembrane liners and floating covers for dams, reservoirs, channels and tunnels in such industries as mining and waste water containment.
Whyalla Fabrications provides a range of steel fabrication and structural engineering services, whose capabilities include project management, heavy engineering design, structural steel, fabrication and erection, pipe welding and pipework installation, pneumatic and hydraulic installations, sheet metal work, and light machining.