Engineer’s £44m hit from bust Carillion

CONSTRUCTION giant Balfour Beatty almost trebled its annual profits – despite a £44m hit from the collapse of Carillion.

The group behind London’s Crossrail project reported underlying pre-tax profits of £196m for 2017, up from £69m the previous year.

Its profit leap comes even though it took a £44m hit on the delayed Aberdeen western peripheral road – a joint venture with Carillion and Galliford Try, due to complete this summer.

It said it had hired more than 150 staff following the Carillion liquidation, taking on staff who had worked alongside Balfour on the Aberdeen project, and other joint ventures.

Boss Leo Quinn said the results ‘demonstrate that our build to last programme is transforming Balfour Beatty’. It marks its second year in the black for Balfour under the overhaul being led by Quinn. Shares rose 1.8pc, or 5.1p, to 282p.