Costain, one of the UK's leading tier one engineering solutions providers, has reported that its forward order book has further increased to a new record level of £3.2 billion (31 December 2013: £3.0 billion) as a result of new contract awards and extensions.

According to its Interim Management Statement published this morning for the period from 1 January 2014 to the current date,  , the Group has made a strong start to the current year and is performing in line with Board's expectations.

The firm said that as a result of the implementation of its ‘Engineering Tomorrow’ strategy, Costain is continuing to secure new work from major blue-chip customers who are investing billions of pounds in capital, operations and maintenance contracts and who require increasingly innovative solutions to solve complex requirements. The statement says:

“Costain’s major customers continue to consolidate their supply chains as they seek to work in a more strategic and collaborative manner with a reduced number of tier one engineering solutions providers.”

Over 90% of Costain’s record forward order book is from repeat orders - the Group  has also maintained its preferred bidder position at over £400 million (31 December 2013: over £400m). To date, over £900 million of revenue has been secured for 2014 (31 December 2013: over £750 million).

The statement says Costain is well positioned in a developing market of a limited number of providers who can deliver the innovative integrated consulting, project delivery and operations and maintenance services increasingly demanded by major customers.