West Australian engineering group Decmil plans to be more “judicious” when negotiating contracts as it tries to return to profitability under a new chief executive following years of losses, director Peter Thomas says.

John Holland executive Rod Heale, who will be Decmil’s third boss in just over two years, will start on June 20. Mr Heale has the challenge of trying to restore investor confidence in the company, whose stock has slid two-thirds since the start of 2022 to trade at just 12.5¢ per share.