Balfour Beatty turnover hits £4.3bn
- Published: 13 August 2008 11:09
- Last Updated: 13 August 2008 11:18
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Balfour Beatty recorded robust performance for the first half of 2008, posting a 25% rise in pre-tax profits, and plan to continue its series of acquisitions.
The contractor's total turnover for January to June was £4.3bn, up 28% from the £3.4bn in the same period a year earlier.
Pre-tax profit stands at £95M, a 25% increase on last year.
The order book stood at £12.1bn, up by 14% since 30 June 2007, and by 6% since the year end with the engineering sector accounting for £4.7bn, with several major projects scheduled to be awarded in the near future.
Profit from operations in the rail sector, before exceptional items and amortisation, fell by £3M to £10M in the first half. The rail sector order book grew by 11% to £1bn during the period. Thameslink, Crossrail and other major rail project expenditure in the coming years are expected to create substantial opportunities for Balfour Beatty.
During the first half of the year, the Group made five acquisitions at a net cash cost of £272M.
In May 2008, Balfour Beatty launched, and successfully completed, an underwritten placing of ordinary shares raising £183M after costs.
Other key projects for the first six months included the Midfield Pier Project for BAA at Heathrow Airport; the new Tamar Government Complex in Hong Kong; an extension of the contract to provide facilities management for BT; the Aquatics Centre for the London Olympics; the rail systems work for the new Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland; and major public and private sector projects in Dubai and the US, including a $330M (£160M) toll road in Texas.
Since 28 June 2008, Balfour Beatty has been awarded a £300M rail contract in Malaysia and has also reached financial close on the Islington schools BSF project, the Institute of Technical Education in Singapore and two large military housing projects in the US, all of which generate substantial construction orders for the Group.
Profit from continuing operations in the engineering sector, before exceptional items and amortisation, rose by 69% to £44M.
"The first half of 2008 was a further period of substantial growth for the Group both organically and through acquisitions. Financial performance improved significantly, our order book continued to increase and our cash position remains strong," Balfour Beatty chief executive Ian Tyler.
