CEC Group directors were in a bullish mood at the company's annual general meeting yesterday as they reported a $23.1 million loss.

Held at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino, the meeting resulted in the re-election of Warren Entsch as an independent
director.

Mr Entsch chaired the reset of the meeting in the absence of Anthony Hartnell who was recuperating from a knee operation.

The former Leichhardt MP told the meeting how the company had to slash its debt by half (from $160 million to $80 million) in 2008.

He said their recovery had been delayed by the collapse of other construction companies which flooded the housing market with cheap stock.

But he said "new" opportunities were emerging in civil construction and particularly the "Rapidbuild" homes which were in demand in remote communities across northern Australia.

"The reputation of Rapidbuild Homes is spreading and we are now getting enquiries from Pacific Rim countries," he said.

Chief executive and managing director Roy Lavis said the company was negotiating for major construction projects early next year, including a shopping centre project.

When asked for more detail by The Cairns Post after the meeting, Mr Lavis said he could not comment until there was a formal announcement to the ASX.

As he did a year ago, Mr Lavis said the annual loss was because of property value write downs and predicted a proft in 2009/10.

"There are always challenges in business, but we are very confident the bottom (of the market) is behind us," he said.

"There is a lot more confidence coming back into the market in terms of property sales and inquiries for bigger parcels of land as well."

Consultant Gerard Obersky addressed the meeting about property development and spoke of the opportunities for CEC as part of the Mt Peter master plan.

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