Builder BESIX Watpac, which has just returned to profit after two years of loss, says supply chain uncertainty created by Donald Trump’s latest steel tariffs announcement shows the construction industry has to once again respond to rapidly changing conditions.

The Brisbane-based contractor, reporting a net after tax profit of $11.6 million in the year to December on $1.2 billion, said the outlook for cost escalation had improved post-pandemic, but the US administration had created a new level of uncertainty.