ClickAJob News

Construction company Balfour Beatty said it is "confident" going into 2008 and reported a 48 per cent rise in profits to £201 million for the year.

Acquisitions in the UK and the US helped the company expand and revenue increased 36 per cent to £7.49 billion.

The year-end order book increased by 25 per cent to £11.4 billion, with almost £2 billion of further work at preferred bidder stage.

Chairman David John said: "We have record order books and an exceptionally strong pipeline of high-quality new work approaching contract. Our acquisitions will add substantially to our earning power.

"We are confident that we will continue to make further good progress in 2008 and beyond."

Balfour Beatty Construction US contributed a first nine months' profit at better than anticipated levels, the company said, while Balfour Beatty extended its position in the UK with the acquisition of building contractor Cowlin for £53 million.

But profits in its rail division were affected by the failure of Metronet, a public-private partnership with the London Underground, in which Balfour Beatty had a 20 per cent stake.

Metronet went into administration in July and Balfour Beatty wrote off £95 million relating to the investment.

The board is recommending a final dividend of 6.9p per ordinary share, making a total dividend for the year of 11.5p, an increase of 26 per cent from 2006.

In a separate statement, the company said it had won $1.2 billion of new contracts in the US.