Balfour Beatty on track to grow revenues this year

Balfour Beatty said that full-year sales will be “about 5% ahead” of last year’s £8.9bn, helped by higher volumes from HS2 works in the UK and increased major airport project activity in Hong Kong.

Fortunately, the company’s order book was unaffected by the government’s decision in October to cancel phase two of the HS2 high-speed railway, which had yet to be contracted. The order book at year-end is expected to be "marginally higher" than the £16.4bn reported at the half-year stage.

Meanwhile, underlying profits from continuing operations are expected to be broadly in line with last year at £232m.

The company said the average amount it generated in net cash each month for the year was £650m to £700m.

“Balfour Beatty continues to deliver attractive total cash returns to shareholders while maintaining an appropriate balance between investment in the business, and a strong capital position,” the company said.

By the end of 2023, £595m will have returned to shareholders since the start of 2021. From January, the group intends to buy back further shares but will confirm the amount in its full-year results in March 2024.

The stock was up 0.5% at 340p by 1023 GMT.