As the world's biggest contract miner looks at growth overseas, Leighton Holdings Ltd. has restated that it is on track to achieve its expected full year profit of over $600 million.

Leighton Chief Executive, Wal King also reiterated the target profit of $900 million in five years time.

Unless the Government modifies the proposed resource super profits tax, adding to the case for Leighton to pursue expansion offshore, particularly in Africa and Mongolia, the mining projects will go overseas.

Mr. King has lengthened Leighton's opportunities in the Middle East, Mongolia and Indonesia as existing clients offered new prospects in lower cost countries.

Moody's Investors Service supported the company's own forecasts, affirming Leighton's Baa1 issuer rating while revising the outlook to stable from negative, saying that the company's operating environment was likely to progress.

"This is expected to underpin increasing earnings", Moody's senior analyst, Maurice O'Connell, said.

Leighton Chief Executive, Wal King said he understood that the proceeds would reach $29 billion with $50 billion of work in hand in five years.

Returns for the year to June were expected to be $18.5 billion and work in hand was $37.5 billion at the end of March.

Mr. King said Leighton anticipated finalizing between about $2.5 billion and $3 billion worth of mining contracts and additions in Australia by the end of July.

However, Mr. King said a number of Australian projects would not go ahead if the Government upheld its line on the resource super profits tax.