Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, is continuing to work against a backdrop of major short-term challenges, according to a statement released this morning ahead of  its Annual General Meeting at 11am today.

In its latest Trading Update, Balfour Beatty said the Group is focused on rolling out its Build to Last transformation programme. Actions are being taken to strengthen operational processes and to improve efficiency across the organisation to achieve the initial financial targets of £200 million cash in and £100 million cost out over the first 24 months. At the same time, the firm said its leadership team is continuing to review the Group’s businesses and manage the legacy problem construction projects through to completion.        

Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group Chief Executive said:

“We are making progress as we work to deliver the initial phase of the Build to Last transformation programme, against a backdrop of major short-term challenges. The internal focus on cash is vital to maintain a strong balance sheet through self-help. At the same time, we see continued evidence that we retain the support, trust and confidence of our customers in Balfour Beatty’s expertise. I continue to believe all our operations should achieve industry-standard performance against what appears to be a beneficial market environment.”

In March Balfour Beatty was appointed as the civil contractor delivery partner for an integrated team that will deliver the ten-year Thames Estuary Asset Management Programme for CH2M Hill, on behalf of the Environment Agency, and anticipated to be worth up to £250 million to Balfour Beatty.

Individual projects on the Programme are expected to be awarded from the third quarter of this year with each expected to be worth up to £10 million in value.