The situation at Wembley, which is now scheduled for completion just six weeks before next year's FA Cup Final on 13 May, has already forced Multiplex executive chairman John Roberts to resign his position at the firm he founded, as GlobeSt.com reported last week. Costs at the 90,000-seat project have risen, work has fallen behind schedule and Multiplex has become bogged down in legal disputes with sub-contractors.
The latest update marks a drastic deterioration since February, when Multiplex officials said they expected the venture to break even. At the time the Roberts family offered a A$50-million ($37.72-million) indemnity to cover losses up to that level.
In a statement, company officials reported that, "productivity levels that had been assumed previously are not currently being achieved." But chief executive Andrew Roberts calls the current situation "unacceptable," adding that the poor results here are overshadowing strong performance in "all other parts of the business. We acknowledge it will take some time to earn back investors' confidence." Largely on the back of additional writedowns against Wembley, Multiplex officials predict the firm would make a profit of around A$170 million ($128.24 million) this year, a drop of 28%.
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