Balfour confident at half-way

Construction giant Balfour Beatty gave a solid half-year trading update today saying it was on course to meet expectations.

The statement for the six months ended 26 June 2010 said the firm's order book is expected to be ahead of the £14.1bn reported at 31 December 2009.

Balfour Beatty's projects in the North West range from road works in Edge Lane at the entrance to Liverpool, to engineering work at Salford University and new fire stations across the region.

The company said it had average net cash in excess of £400m for the first half of 2010 excluding net debt in public-private subsidiaries, compared with £224m in the first half of 2009.

The statement continued: "Balfour Beatty operates across the infrastructure lifecycle and is uniquely placed in major markets to benefit from long-term growth in investment in infrastructure. Each of our business areas operates in a diversity of markets and geographies, which, allied to our capability to provide an integrated service to customers, gives our business strength and resilience.

"There remain uncertainties in some parts of our markets, particularly with regard to government funding of infrastructure investment. However, in other markets prospects remain robust."

Shares in Balfour Beatty opened up 4% at 246p this morning.