Balfour Beatty profit rises on UK construction rebound

The house builder reported an almost 70% rise in half-year profit

Britain's house builder Balfour Beatty reported an almost 70 per cent rise in half-year pretax profit on Wednesday after a two-year overhaul of operations helped lift its British construction business back into the black.

The construction firm said pretax profit from continuing operations was £22 million (€24.1 million) for the six months to June 30th, up from £13 million a year ago.

Its British construction business posted a profit from operations of £2 million from a loss of £69 million last year.

Results were helped by a strong performance in its other businesses. The group said its support services unit reported profits in the range of industry-standard margins and said its US construction business well-positioned to do so this year.

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Balfour has spent two years overhauling operations after losses at its British construction division led to multiple profit warnings. It scrapped its 2015 dividend, cancelled a share buy back and reorganised pension payments. The firm reinstated its dividend in 2016.

– Reuters