Power projects mess clouds Forge's future From predator to target in less than three months is quite some reversal in fortunes. But that is the fate of Forge Group, the troubled engineer whose ambitions were brought crashing back to earth by a couple of power station projects that have gone badly wrong. Now it is harbouring cash as best it can while running up a white flag and seeking offers for the company. But with trading warnings coming as quickly as hot dinners at the group - Wednesday's was the second in a fortnight - it is hard to see offers for the entire company being put on the table. Some parts of the business could be sold, such as asset manager Taggart Global, which was acquisition mid-2013 for $US43 million. Taggart has been fattened up with additional contract wins since, which would remove a key growth plank from the group. Bidder interest would be constrained by the black hole that is its two power projects - one in Western Australia, the other in western Queensland. The lack of clarity of how to fix these projects and quickly stem the losses is the main defence to a change of control. These two contracts are behind the latest $75 million earnings reversal from a gross profit, as measured by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, of up to $50 million to a loss of up to $25 million for the year to June. But other problems are now emerging, such as those at its logistics joint venture in the Pilbara. Last financial year, Forge wrote-off its $2.4 million investment in this venture, but has now warned of a deepening exposure. Sorting out the two power projects has meant the focus has shifted away from seeking large new projects which will weigh on any uplift in earnings once its present woes are resolved. Amid Forge's difficulties, prospects elsewhere in the engineering sector are mixed. The planned sale of its property management arm has few analysts singing the praises of UGL, which largely leaves Bradken as the sole investment option, apart from Downer EDI. Here, Bradken's bid for Austin Engineering has garnered plaudits due to their natural fit, but the nebulous nature of its bid - it has made a non-binding and indicative proposal - means progress, let alone any prospective success would appear to be some way off.