Three major players in the highways construction sector have declared their performance to be in line with – or ahead of – expectations after announcing their most recent results.
Costain revealed a pre-tax loss of £13.3m for the year ending 31 December 2021, with group revenue of £1,135m.
CEO Alex Vaughan said: ‘We have delivered an improved operating performance and results in line with market expectations, including significant growth in adjusted operating profit and margin, and good free cash flow generation.
‘Infrastructure is facing enormous change, underpinned by significant committed investment and generating huge opportunities for us and, in my mind, addressing these changes requires a different approach.
‘We have aligned our services to meet the changing needs of our clients, allowing us to shape, create and deliver pioneering solutions that transform the performance of the infrastructure ecosystem.’
Balfour Beatty started work this year to construct a new underpass to lower the A63 in Hull
Kier Group reported results for the six months ended 31 December, with pre-tax profit of £12.7m from revenue of £1,482m.
Among contract awards over the last six months, it cited over £1bn of highways work, including the delivery of the A417 Missing Link.
Chief executive Andrew Davies said: ‘The performance of the Group over the last six months reflects our significantly enhanced resilience and strengthened financial position. We achieved our medium-term plan margin target in the first half of the year.
‘The Group is well positioned to continue benefiting from UK Government infrastructure spending commitments and has seen strong levels of awards in the first half of the year. We continue to trade in line with expectations. Our high quality order book underpinned by long-term frameworks and agreements, gives us confidence in our medium-term value creation plan and the continued success of the Group.’
Balfour Beatty announced its full year results for 2021, with a pre-tax profit of £87m and revenue of £8,263m.
Group chief executive Leo Quinn said: ‘In 2021, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, we have delivered operating profits ahead of expectations.
'Balfour Beatty emerges from the last two years with capabilities intact and a higher quality order book. Together these provide the visibility to deliver profitable managed growth and sustainable cash generation.
‘With a transformed portfolio focused on favourable infrastructure markets across our chosen geographies and our sector leading balance sheet, we are confident of delivering significant future returns to shareholders.’
On the Highways front, Balfour Beatty noted that in December it had completed the A19 major upgrade project for National Highways, four months ahead of schedule.
