he value of Balfour Beatty’s order book has lost £1 billion it has emerged, but the construction group remained upbeat as it defied economic gloom to record improved sales and declare a dividend.
The UK’s largest contractor said the order book reduced to £16.4 billion in the six months to June 30 compared with £17.4 billion at the end of the prior financial year.
That was due to some projects progressing well, but also the impact of economic conditions delaying some US commercial office work.
The FTSE 250 company said: “Despite this, the large, lower risk order book continues to give clear visibility in the short and medium term of the group’s ability to deliver significant shareholder returns from profitable managed growth and cash generation.”
Balfour Beatty, which is working on projects in the capital such as Old Oak Common station and London Power tunnels with National Grid and had a strong UK construction performance in the first half, also works in the US and Hong Kong.
That, coupled with working in various sectors including energy, rail and roads means it has a number of revenue streams and is not reliant on just one market.
Sales in the six months to June 30 rose 9% to £4.5 million and pre-tax profits slipped to £82 million from £83 million. A dividend of 3.5p per share was declared.
Chief executive Leo Quinn said: “We continue to deliver from the scale and breadth of our lower risk order book, which, during this period of high inflation and interest rates, underpins the financial results reported today and our expectations for the full year.”