Downer EDI chief executive Grant Fenn has warned that labour shortages are delaying new projects because of workers catching omicron as the urban services group reported an 18 per cent rise in interim net profits to $89 million.

“With the arrival of omicron, it’s been a tougher six months to navigate than we expected in August 2021,” Mr Fenn said, adding that Downer’s operations had suffered from staff being off work.