Balfour Beatty’s order book has swelled to £17bn as of the end of 2020, up from £14.3bn at the end of 2019, as it offered a confident outlook for the year ahead.
The firm, whose sites are all now open amid the covid-19 pandemic, said it expected revenue for 2020 to be in line with the £8.4bn it generated last year, with operating profit also expected to be in line with its expectations. It said it expected to generate a “more normalised” operating profit in 2021, broadly in line with 2019.
Meanwhile, its full-year average monthly net cash is now forecast to be around £500m, up from the previous guidance of £430m-£460m.
In October, the group also concluded the extension of a £375m revolving credit facility, which now extends to October 2023. As of 8 December this year, the facility is undrawn and the company has no further debt repayments until 2023.
Balfour Beatty has also launched a new sustainability strategy, Building New Futures, which sets out its aim to “go beyond” net zero carbon by 2040, generate zero waste, and “positively impact” more than one million people.
For 2030, the Group has formally committed to setting a science-based target to reduce carbon emissions and is guiding to a 40% reduction in tonnes of waste generated per £1m of revenue and £3bn social value generated over the next decade.
Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group chief executive, said: “As the impact of covid-19 reduces, we are seeing positive momentum across the business. Ours is an industry that underpins economies: going forward, it will help to drive recovery, including new jobs, new skills and a greener future.
“We look towards 2021 with a strong order book, a robust balance sheet and having maintained our expert capability. These attributes provide confidence that Balfour Beatty is well positioned to deliver value through profitable managed growth in both the medium and long term.”
