CLOUGH

The West Australian engineering group insisted its five-year restructure plan was going well after it lost more than $66 million in the 12 months to June 30, largely the result of costs of a dispute with Origin Energy over the BassGas project. The net loss was $59.6 million excluding a $6.7 million foreign exchange loss. Sales fell 27 per cent to $557 million because of delays in sourcing new work, but chief executive David Singleton said Clough's order book was improving, with work in hand topping $850 million, double its level 14 months ago. Clough's other businesses were profitable and forecast to grow, while it netted $11.8 million from the sale of its interest in the Shark Bay Salt joint venture.