Forvane benchmarked 19 ASX-listed engineering, construction and infrastructure firms on their FY26 results. The sector grew, but the largest players took the margin gains while the fastest growers earned less on every dollar they added.
On paper, FY26 was a good year for Australia’s listed engineering, construction and infrastructure firms. Combined revenue passed $50 billion. But averages hide where the value went. For most growing firms, the question is no longer whether there is work. It is whether the work pays.
What the benchmark shows
Large firms are trading revenue for margin, while mid-tier firms are winning work without earning more on it.
| FY25 to FY26 (A$) | Firms | Revenue FY26 | Revenue growth | EBITDA growth | EBITDA margin | Margin change (% points) |
| Engineering and Construction | 9 | $24.1bn | +9.0% | +10.1% | 12.8% to 13.0% | +0.1 |
| Infrastructure and Utilities | 7 | $20.9bn | -1.2% | +6.9% | 6.6% to 7.1% | +0.5 |
| Mining and Resources services | 3 | $5.2bn | +26.5% | +17.8% | 11.8% to 11.0% | -0.8 |
| Four largest (SGH, Downer, Ventia, Fletcher) | 4 | $31.3bn | -1.8% | +5.7% | 10.7% to 11.5% | +0.8 |
| Remaining mid-tier and small caps | 15 | $18.9bn | +22.0% | +21.1% | 8.4% to 8.4% | -0.1 |
| All companies | 19 | $50.2bn | +6.0% | +9.9% | 10.0% to 10.3% | +0.4 |
Source: Forvane analysis of FY26 ASX annual reports. Figures are statutory and include acquisitions and one-off items. Margin change calculated before rounding.
Twelve of the 19 firms improved margin. Of the seven that went backwards, five grew revenue by double digits. Four firms reported lower revenue, and three of them still lifted margin.
The benchmark revealed three patterns:
1. Growth that dilutes margin. Several of the fastest growers earned less on each dollar they added.
- Saunders grew revenue 42.5% to $306m, while EBITDA fell 44% and margin dropped from 3.3% to 1.3%.
- GenusPlus grew revenue 70.5% to $1.28bn, but margin slipped from 8.6% to 7.4%.
- Symal grew 27.7% to $1.12bn, with margin down from 9.3% to 8.4%.
- NRW grew 31.4% to $4.29bn, with margin down from 11.1% to 10.5%. Much of that growth came through the Fredon acquisition.
2. Margin by subtraction. The large players lifted margin by shrinking to a better portfolio.
- Downer reduced revenue 7.4% to $9.7bn yet grew EBITDA 5.4%, taking margin from 5.7% to 6.5%. Revenue has fallen from $11.5bn in FY21.
- SGH held revenue near $10.6bn and nudged margin from 19.0% to 19.7%.
- Duratec held revenue flat at $570m and lifted margin from 7.1% to 7.8%.
This works, but it is finite. A portfolio can only be pruned so far.
3. Growth with margin. A smaller group grew and earned more.
- Monadelphous grew revenue 29.4% to $2.79bn, and margin rose from 7.3% to 8.1%.
- SRG Global grew 26.6% to $1.68bn, and margin rose from 9.0% to 9.8%. Since FY21 its revenue has nearly tripled and its margin has risen from 8.1% to 9.8%.
- SHAPE grew 30.0% to $1.23bn, lifting margin from 3.0% to 3.8%.
What separates this group is not the market they serve. It is how tightly they run delivery, overhead and the integration of what they buy.
Project-based firms also showed how quickly one job moves the result. SCEE‘s EBITDA fell 44%, largely due to WestConnex dispute costs. Lycopodium‘s margin fell from 18.5% to 13.9% as project awards were delayed.
What this means for leadership teams
- FY27 margin has to be earned in operations, because the easy levers are being used up. Portfolio pruning has limits. Acquired revenue arrives with its own costs and systems. And the fuel and freight rises since June are, for now, being absorbed by contractors rather than passed on. Each pattern above points to a specific discipline.
- Growth that dilutes margin needs a PMO built for margin, not just reporting. When revenue grows 30% to 70% in a year, project controls rarely keep pace. Margin fade appears late, variations go unclaimed and escalation is missed. Forvane’s PMO for margin improvement gives executives a live view of margin by project, enforces commercial discipline on variations and escalation, and flags fade while there is still time to act.
- Every new contract adds back-office cost unless the model changes. Fast growth usually means hiring finance, procurement, document control and reporting staff into a tight labour market. Forvane’s Managed Services offering designs and runs that project back office, onshore, offshore or blended, at a transparent and predictable cost. Clients keep their own people focused on delivery, where the margin is made.
- Portfolio reshaping and acquisitions only pay off if they are executed. Downer, Fletcher and SGH are mid-way through multi-year resets, restructuring and refocusing their portfolios. NRW, Symal, SRG and others are integrating acquisitions. Forvane’s Strategy Execution and Transformation Management Office turns these plans into owned, funded and tracked initiatives, with one line of sight from each initiative to EBITDA.
Best practices on protecting your margin
Protecting margin does not mean slowing growth. It means making sure the business is built to carry it. Here are five practices that can make a difference.
- Put margin next to growth. Every growth number the board sees should show what it did to margin, measured against peers as well as last year.
- Track performance project by project. Leadership should see how each project’s margin is tracking while there is still time to act, not in the month-end report.
- Protect margin in delivery. As the business takes on more work, project controls and commercial discipline need to keep pace, so variations are claimed and cost increases are recovered.
- Optimise the back office. Finance, procurement, document control and reporting should become more efficient as the business grows, so overhead falls as a share of revenue. Rethink how this work is done before hiring more people to do it.
- Hold strategy to its numbers. Acquisitions and resets should be tracked against the margin they promised, with clear owners and timelines.
Key takeaways
Too often, growth becomes the headline and margin becomes a footnote. But a strong revenue year is not necessarily a strong year. What matters is whether each new dollar of work is profitable once delivery, overhead and integration are paid for.
The firms that do this well do not treat margin as an outcome to be reported after the fact. They treat it as a management discipline, built into how projects are controlled, how the back office scales and how strategy is executed.
Where does your business sit?
We will show you where your business sits against these 19 firms, and where your margin is leaking. In a 30-minute conversation, a Forvane partner will place your revenue growth, EBITDA margin and overhead against the benchmark. You will leave knowing whether your margin is being lost in delivery, in overhead or in the execution of your strategy.
Book your benchmark conversation
Not ready to talk yet? Subscribe to the Forvane newsletter to receive the next benchmark update when it is released.