The Americas region of Lend Lease has achieved an Operating Profit After Tax of $53.7 million, an increase of 49 per cent from the corresponding year, underpinned by increased earnings in our construction and infrastructure development businesses. Prior corresponding year earnings were negatively impacted by the costs associated with the New York investigation into billing practices.

Reflecting the improving market conditions in our core geographic markets of New York and Chicago, new work secured for our construction business increased to $3.5 billion, and backlog revenue increased to $4.9 billion. Additionally, improvements continue for other markets across the region including San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Boston. We will continue to grow our project management and construction business through our customer channels including healthcare and multi-sites.

Our Healthcare development business continues to build momentum, with the successful sale of the Bon Secours St. Francis Watkins Centre in Midlothian, Virginia. Healthcare development operations now have three projects under construction and four projects in preferred bidder position, including the integrated development, construction and management of a new 280,000 square foot Winston-Salem Veterans Affair Healthcare Center ($100 million) for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Kernersville, North Carolina.

Sustainability is an integral part of how we do business at Lend Lease; our solar initiatives continue to make great progress within our military housing portfolio and with external clients. Our solar services business now has 68 megawatts in operations or under construction.

We are proud to continue providing great developments that improve quality of life for military personnel and their families throughout the United States.

During the year, we reached financial close on the third phase of the US Department of the Army’s Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) program. With a construction value of $352 million (US$367 million), this third phase allows us to continue delivering on-post hotels for service members, their families and all government travellers. This latest phase includes approximately 3,800 hotel rooms on 18 military installations. In total, through all three phases of the PAL program, we will deliver the development and/or renovation of more than 11,600 hotel rooms across 39 military installations nationwide. This, coupled with our military housing portfolio that encompasses more than 41,000 homes across 19 military installations, makes Lend Lease the market leader in privatised military housing and lodging.

• Infrastructure Development projects at June 2012 was restated from 27 (as previously reported) to 22 in order to consolidate projects with multiple phases that are substantially complete. This same methodology was applied to the number of projects disclosed at June 2013.

• Net reduction due to adjusted units on PAL Group C project which closed in FY13

Outlook

We are well positioned to deliver in our core markets and geographies in the Americas market. We will continue to enhance our integrated offering and expand our public private partnerships; invest in the growth of our key markets including healthcare and defence; and position ourselves as an industry leader as we deliver solutions to create the best places for our clients in the commercial, social and residential facilities of the future.