But the work – which sets the foundations for the high-speed trains to operate on the route – has excited Balfour, and investors, as it’s the firm’s biggest U.S. contract.
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The firm announced an underlying profit of £7m before tax, an improvement on a £130m loss for the same period a year ago.
Group chief executive Leo Quinn: “We are now starting to see tangible benefits from the transformation of Balfour Beatty”.
Along with a restart in shareholder payouts, Balfour said on Wednesday that it expected to make solid and measurable progress going forward and was on track to achieve its 2016 cash and cost targets. As a result we are able to reinstate the dividend as planned.
The firm has blamed historic, loss-making contracts as a reason for its recent struggles, although it says more than 80% of these have now been completed and expects improvements to continue as these begin to phase out. In the run-up to the referendum the building industry was already sluggish.
A report by the Office for National Statistics last week showed United Kingdom construction output fell by 0.7% in the second quarter, marking a fresh industry recession measured by two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
The number of Balfour Beatty PLC shares in issue is 680,799,000 which have a current share price of 260 bringing Balfour Beatty PLC’s market capitalisation to 1.77B GBp.
Balfour posted a total loss of £11mln in the first half of the year, compared with the staggering £135mln loss for the same period in 2015.
Balfour Beatty plc is an infrastructure company that provides maintenance, upgrade and management services in power transmission, utilities infrastructure, and road and rail.
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About 2.18 million shares traded hands or 43.42% up from the average. The firm’s market capitalization is GBX 1.66 billion. The Company’s Infrastructure Investments segment also includes housing development division.
