Engineering and construction group Aveng reported on Monday that its headline earnings for the six months ended December 2004 increased by 55 percent to R133-million, despite the effects of the strong rand.

Revenue for the period grew by 12 percent to R6.7-billion.

Headline earnings per share for the half-year period were 34 cents per share, a 55 percent improvement on the prior comparable period.

The group consists of the engineering, construction and mining operations of Grinaker-LTA and McConnel Dowel Corporation.

Shares slipped 1.25 percent to 11.85 rand on Monday.

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