Article: South Africa: Construction major s steel unit takes pain.

The manufacturing and processing division of Aveng - more specifically, Trident Steel - marred what was an otherwise solid performance from the JSE-listed construction group in the financial year ended June 30.

Revenue in this division dropped from R8,5-billion in 2008, to R8-billion in the 2009 financial year, while operating profit shrunk from R1,4-billion to R654-million.

Operating margin in the division more than halved from 16,6% to 8,2%.

"We have seen challenging conditions in the steel and manufacturing businesses," says CEO Roger Jardine.

Aveng has been chasing improved margins over the last year as Jardine believes the ...

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