GCS falls on profit warning

Shares in Global Construction Services were lower after the company issued a full-year profit warning citing challenging conditions in the WA economy.

The company, which provides support services and facilities to the construction sector said it expected normalised unaudited EBITDA for the year to fall within a range of $28.5-$30 million.

This compared with EBITDA of $47.7 million in the 2013 financial year.

GCS attributed the lower result to challenging market conditions and the continued delay in the letting of major projects.

However the company said its net debt to equity ratio was expected to fall to 35 per cent from 43 per cent at the end of the previous financial year.

It also said activity in the residential sector was at an all-time high and tendering activity remained robust in the commercial sector.

GCS said oil and gas opportunities in the oil and gas sector remained buoyant and the company's east coast joint venture, SmartScaff, was experiencing significant growth.

"We are confident the business is well placed to improve performance and take advantage of the significant pipeline of new project opportunities in FY15 and beyond," the company said in a statement.

Shares in the company were off 2.5 cents, or 5.26 per cent, to 45 cents shortly before the close of trade.