Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group operating in construction services, professional services, support services and infrastructure investments, has issued an upbeat Interim Management Statement for the period 28 June to 10 November 2009.
The Group said that trading performance continued to be in line with expectations, with a strong overall performance in the building sector in both the UK and US.
The Group’s balance sheet and general financial position also remains strong, with average net cash in excess of £260 million. Balfour Beatty has recently completed the acquisition of Parsons Brinckerhoff - substantially funded by a rights issue. Parsons Brinckerhoff also had net cash on acquisition of £114 million.
Business performance
Balfour said there had been good overall performance in UK construction services in a difficult market, with strong performances in its UK major and regional civil engineering businesses.
Although Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, as anticipated, had seen reduced volumes at the end of the current AMP4 regulatory cycle, the Group are anticipating new orders ahead of AMP5 which starts in April 2010. In August 2009, Balfour were selected as an alliance partner for the delivery of South West Water’s K5 capital programme, which commences in April 2010.
Acquisition of Parsons Brinckerhoff
Balfour announced in September that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, for around £380 million. Following the acquisition, the Group are expecting “substantial cash outflows” in the first year due to a number of factors, including additional tax charges, unwinding of certain working capital positions and project settlement costs and the exceptional transaction and integration costs.
A joint integration team has been formed to ensure the smooth transition of Parsons into Balfour Beatty and that the enlarged Group maximises the opportunities available to it in the future.
With the addition of Parsons Brinckerhoff’s order book of 1.2 billion, the confirmed order book total for the Group now stands at around £13.7 billion. Balfour Beatty said it remained confident of making good progress in 2009 and that its strong financial position offered continuing flexibility to make appropriate investments in long-term growth opportunities.
UK water companies are invited to join an upcoming webinar which will explore how the sector can take indirect potable reuse (IPR) from concept to full-scale operational reality.
James Sumsion, CEO of predictive water intelligence specialists Kohtari, says the water sector needs to take a giant leap forward, so that it can anticipate and act upon water quality issues - rather than merely react.
Ray Moulds, Sales Director at Flood Control International, takes a look at how automated sliding floodgates are supporting secondary containment at water and sewerage company sites.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.