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Nicholas Grove is a Morningstar journalist.

Leighton Holdings (LEI) on Monday said it expects to post an underlying profit after tax for the transitional six-month financial period to 31 December 2011 of around $270 million, compared to previous guidance for a profit of around $250 million.

Leighton had previously announced it was moving to a new financial year with an end date of 31 December. The change has resulted in a six-month transitional period from 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2011.

Leighton chief executive Hamish Tyrwhitt attributed the guidance to improved earnings from the company's operations in Australia and Asia.

Tyrwhitt also announced Leighton will book a capital gain from the sale of the HWE Mining business of $169 million after tax, and that this will be offset by impairments to the BrisConnections project and Habtoor Leighton Group joint venture of $49 million and $50 million, respectively.

Morningstar senior equities analyst Ross Macmillan said while Leighton had increased underlying profit guidance by 8 per cent to $270 million, the reported earnings guidance for the six months to 31 December is lower as a result of the $99 million in non-cash writedowns on BrisConnections and Habtoor Leighton.

"New CEO Hamish Tyrwhitt, since taking charge of the company in August, has focused on restoring Leighton's business reputation and regaining investor confidence," Macmillan said.

"But he faces three major hurdles - achieving forecast net profit after tax, ensuring no further major writedowns on large projects and replenishing the $44 billion of work-in-hand."

Leighton also reaffirmed underlying profit guidance for the twelve months to 30 June of between $600 million and $650 million, excluding capital gains and impairments.

Leighton is scheduled to report its profit results for the transitional six-month period to 31 December 2011 on Monday, 13 February 2012.