Balfour Beatty H1 up 25%

Source: Construction Digital

Date :13/08/2008 14:53:03

A strong order book for public sector contracts worldwide has seen Balfour Beatty dodge the construction downturn as it reported a sharp jump in profits.

Balfour said that half year profits stood at £95 million, beating City expectations of £91 million and a 25 percent rise on the figure a year earlier.

A focus on PPPs in global markets and several strategic acquisitions, including Blackpool International Airport, have been behind the growth, according to the company.

In recent weeks Balfour Beatty has sealed multi-million pound deals to supply military housing in the US as well being awarded the contract to build the aquatics centre for the London 2012 Olympics.

Today, Balfour also revealed that its joint venture companies in Dubai have been awarded a major civil engineering contract and two building services contracts with a total value of £240 million.

Chief executive Ian Tyler spoke encouragingly on the results, and said the company’s short-term outlook was positive.

"We anticipate that order intake and trading performance will remain strong throughout the year and that we will make further good progress in the second half of the year," he said.