Carillion hails 'encouraging' start to year

Support services company Carillion said on Wednesday that trading conditions have remained largely stable since its full-year 2016 results in March and it has made a promising start to the year.

Chief executive Richard Howson said at the annual general meeting that the group continues to focus on the priorities it set out when it announced its 2016 results. These include the rebalancing of its business into markets and sectors where it can achieve its objectives for margins and cash flows and to manage challenging contract positions, particularly in its international markets.

"We have made an encouraging start to the year in terms of winning new business in our chosen markets, with new orders and probable orders worth approximately £1.3bn, which has increased revenue visibility) for 2017 to over 85%."

At 1220 BST, the shares were down 3.6% to 219.68p.