Balfour Beatty back in the black

THE boss of Balfour Beatty has hailed the turnaround at the company after it swung back into the black.

Balfour, Britain’s biggest construction firm, has reported profits of £12m for the first six months of the year having made losses of £ 15m in the same period last year.

Revenues at the FTSE 250 company are up 8pc to £4.2bn while its dividend is going up to 1.2p per share.

It marks a turnaround for the company, which is working on the HS2 railway, since new management took over in 2015 amid a string of profit warnings.

And it contrasts with other companies in the construction sector including Carillion whose value has plunged after it announced an £845m writedown and worsening debt.

Balfour chief executive Leo Quinn said: ‘Some two-and-ahalf years ago we were delivering our eighth profit warning – we stopped counting at that point.

‘We had some 89 distressed projects which were losing money and, ironically, we were under threat of takeover by Carillion. As you look forward into the future what you see is the likes of the four ‘Hs’ – Heathrow, Highways England, Hinkley [nuclear power] and HS2.

‘These are projects that cater directly to our core strengths and core capabilities.’

Quinn added that the market was moving from a shortage of demand to a shortage of supply, and said that it was vital to invest in the next generation of skilled workers.