Balfour Beatty on track to meet FY expectations

(Sharecast News) - Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty said on Thursday that it was on track to meet full-year expectations as it pointed to strong cash and order book growth. In an update for the period to 4 December, the company said the order book is expected to grow 20% in 2025 from the previous year's £18.4bn, driven largely by UK Construction, where the ongoing momentum in the energy market has contributed to over £3.5bn of new power generation orders in the year.

Revenue is expected to be more than 5% ahead of the prior year's £10bn, with "strong progress" made in the company's chosen growth markets, namely UK energy and US buildings.

Full-year underlying profit from operations (PFO) from earnings-based businesses is expected to be ahead of the prior year, with a strong performance in UK Construction and Support Services partially offset by lower US Construction profit.

Average monthly net cash is expected to be at the top end of the previously guided range of £1.1bn to £1.2bn.

Balfour also said that from January 2026, it plans to buy back further shares ahead of confirming the amount for its 2026 share buyback at the group's full-year results in March.

Chief executive Philip Hoare said: "Our immediate priority is to finish 2025 strongly, while laying the groundwork for further progress in 2026, where I expect the group to continue on its journey of delivering PFO growth from its earnings-based businesses.

"In addition, we are reaffirming our commitment to shareholder returns and confirming a further share buyback for 2026."