Australian contractor predicts it will lose £45m on Wembley but says stadium will be ready for 2006 FA Cup FInal.

Multiplex has announced that it will suffer losses of around £45m on Wembley stadium and said it would not be completed until March 2006, three months later than expected.

The predicted loss is more than double the £21m the Roberts family had agreed to cover and Multiplex has now made a pre-tax write-down of £24.6m on the project.

As a result of the problems Multiplex has reduced its 2005 profits forecast from £98.2m to £71m.

On Friday the company's executive chairman quit and shares were suspended while it revised earnings.

In a statement Mulitplex said: "In the course of this review, it has received an internal report that indicates that the margin position on the Wembley project may have deteriorated significantly."

The announcement came as the firm announced the resignation of executive chairman John Roberts. He is to remain as a director.

The Multiplex board has elected deputy chairman Allan McDonald as non-executive Chairman. Noel Henderson has also resigned as executive director but will remain as a construction director.

The firm said that as a result of these changes and following the appointment of a new independent director, the board of Multiplex will comprise five independent and five executive directors, led by an independent chairman.