Balfour Beatty clinch multi-million pound double contract
INFRASTRUCTURE giant Balfour Beatty has clinched a multi-million pound double contract win as it reported strong half-year results this morning.
The construction specialist, which has an office in Middlesbrough and worked on Stockton’s iconic Infinity Bridge, has struck a £460m deal to deliver the second phase of a satellite building to support Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2 (T2B).
In addition, Balfour has won a £230m street lighting contract from Coventry City Council. The work will involve the design, installation and maintenance of 33,000 street lights and 6,000 signs and bollards over five years, as well as the ongoing maintenance of equipment.
The double win strengthens the order book of Balfour, which reported a robust performance in the first six months of 2010.
In the half year ended June 26, pre-tax profit was up 32% to £141m, while group revenues rose 5% to £4.6bn. The company’s order book had swelled from £14.1bn in December to £14.6bn in June, while the dividend payment - a key indicator of the financial strength of a listed company - rose from 4.79p to 5.05p.
Balfour said it was well placed in key markets to benefit from the long-term, global growth in investment in infrastructure.
Ian Tyler, CEO, said: “While the timing of short-term movements in individual markets is difficult to predict, we now have significant capabilities across the infrastructure life cycle and operate in diverse markets and geographies, which gives us strength and resilience.
“We have a high quality order book ... and a number of opportunities in the second half of the year.
“This, along with the actions taken and proposals to drive efficiency, means we are well positioned to manage any challenges in individual markets.”
The group, which is hoping to achieve annual benefits of around £30m from its efficiency programme, said it remained “confident” about the future outlook.
Employing around 50,000 staff, it has developed into a global business that works in the UK, continental Europe, the US, South-east Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
Its key infrastructure markets include transportation (roads, rail and airports), social infrastructure (education, specialist healthcare, and various types of accommodation), utilities (water, gas and power transmission and generation) and commercial (offices, leisure and retail).
The group has worked on several high profile schemes on Teesside including Temenos, the £2.7m, 48m-high sculpture on the Middlehaven regeneration site in Middlesbrough.
