It was not a happy day for shareholders, with the company also electing not to declare an interim dividend based on its current net debt levels, after paying out 7.5c per share last year.

Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and before one-off costs of $16.2 million, was down 48% compared to the $31.1 million delivered for the same period in 2009.

After one-off costs of $5.3 million associated to the business restructure which has been underway since December, operating EBITDA for the six months to the end of December was $10.9 million, down 65%.

Operating earnings per share was a loss of 2.3c a share versus a profit of 11.7c for the same period in 2009, with basic earnings per share at a loss of 3.9c/share compared to a profit of 9.5c in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Free revenue was also down $18.4 million from the prior year to $222.6 million, of which $4.1 million resulted from a negative foreign exchange impact.

Total revenue of $366.8 million was also down, while net cash inflow from operations of $4.6 million was $7.1 million lower than the previous year, reflecting significant capital expenditure in Adelaide where Coffey has co-located all of its South Australia-based offices into a new, single facility.

As a result, net debt increased by $3.8 million during the period, kicking up its gearing ratio to 36% from 34%.

“This is a disappointing result for the first six months,” outgoing Coffey managing director Roger Olds said in a statement.

Olds is leaving Coffey later this month and is being replaced by John Douglas.

Coffey chairman Dr John Mulcahy said the group expected to lift its performance in the second half, but warned there were still a number of unknowns with regard to the timing of some projects.

“The restructure and cost-savings program has gone well, however, Olds’ successor John Douglas has a clear set of priorities to look at further revenue and synergy initiatives,” he said.

A revamp of the group’s overhead structure, to reduce operating costs, was announced late last year and is set to deliver annual savings of $18 million, with $6.3 million expected to be realised in the second half of this year.

Of the group’s three businesses – consulting, international development and project management, consulting was most impacted by project cancellations and unusual wet weather conditions on the east coast of Australia.

The consulting business includes the Canadian geotechnics business, the Brazilian mining business and the environments business in California.

The Americas consulting businesses all suffered from the global financial crisis and have been slow to recover, but a step up in resource activity is set to deliver more work in Canada and Brazil.

Coffey shares are down 6.1% to 84c this morning, after slipping below $1 yesterday.