Balfour Beatty profit rises, on track for full year
Construction group Balfour Beatty posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit on Wednesday as its Build To Last turnaround programme continues to bear fruit.
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In the half year to 28 June, pre-tax profit increased to £63m from £50m in the same period a year earlier, as revenue ticked up 1.2% to £3.88bn. The order book rose 5% to £13.2bn and the company hiked its interim dividend by 31% to 2.1p a share.
Balfour said the trading environment in its chosen markets remains "favourable", notwithstanding decisions to proceed with HS2 and Heathrow expansion would "significantly" improve the outlook.
The group, which said it was on track to deliver a full-year performance in line with market expectations, lifted its full-year average net cash guidance range by £50m to between £280m and £300m.
Chief executive Leo Quinn said: "This is another strong set of results - increasing profits backed by a strong cash performance, plus carefully managed growth in our order book.
"Today, the group's geographic and operational diversity underpins our risk management, with over 50% of our business and Investments portfolio assets outside the UK.
"Combined with the strength of our balance sheet and cash flows, this positions Balfour Beatty to create and return future value to shareholders."