Balfour Beatty returns to profit after two years of losses

Its group chief executive Leo Quinn said the transformation of Balfour Beatty was “well underway”.

He said the group had been simplified and it was now focussing on its core markets in the UK and US, where governments were committed to large scale expenditure on infrastructure.

Quinn said: “We have returned the group to profit and significantly exceeded our Build to Last Phase One targets. We have upgraded leadership, processes and controls while continuing to invest in the group’s unique strengths. As a result, we have improved not just the quality of our order book but our customer satisfaction scores.”

Its order book is up 15% and stands at £12.7bn, with underlying revenue up 4% to £8.5bn.

Quinn said it has a strong balance sheet with net cash at £173m, underpinned by a £1.2bn investments portfolio.