Costain has announced that revenue has exceeded £1bn for the first time in 16 years and that the year-end order book is at a record high of £2.6bn up 30%.

Costain today announced the strong preliminary results for the year ending 31 December 2009 which shows the increased dividend for the year. The Group attributes their progress to focusing on blue-chip customers with committed long term investment programmes.

Costain’s Environment division, which incorporates the company’s activities in waste, water and marine sectors, saw an increase in its order book of 66% to £1.3bn. The Manchester PFI contract and the Sellafield Decommissioning project were the major contributing factors toin the division’s success. Costain expects to see high level investment continuing in these areas over the coming years.

David Allvey, Chairman, commented:

“This was an excellent overall operational performance. Once again, the Group has demonstrated its resilience in a difficult economic environment. We are confident that our position in markets underpinned by strategic capital expenditure, regulatory commitment or essential maintenance requirements will continue to stand us in good stead.

“With a record year-end order book, a significant amount of work already secured for 2010, a net cash balance of over £120 million and customers committed to long-term capital investment programmes, Costain is looking to the future with confidence. That confidence is reflected in the Board‟s recommendation to increase by 10% the total dividend for the year.

“Building on our success, we are now implementing the next stage of our strategy, ‘Choosing Costain’, which will ensure that the Group enhances its position as one of the leading players in the industry.”