Balfour Beatty expects cash to near £1bn at the end of 2025, after reporting wins in key markets this year.
The UK’s biggest contractor said in a trading update this morning (8 May) that average net cash in 2025 is expected to reach between £900m and £1bn, following a “strong” performance in the year to date.
In the first quarter of 2025, the firm tabled an average net cash balance of £1.06bn, compared with an average of £766m over the course of 2024.
In its annual results announcement in March, Balfour Beatty projected that its average net cash would reach around £800m in 2025.
Since it published the full-year results, “The positive momentum in Balfour Beatty’s key markets has continued,” the contractor said in its latest announcement.
Trading to date in 2025 “has been in line with expectations”, it added, and the board “continues to expect an increase in profit from operations” for the full year. The firm’s operational profit totalled £248m in 2024.
The contractor said its UK rail business had secured around £450m worth of new work in the first four months of this year, including track renewal with the Central Rail Systems Alliance, civil engineering jobs, and fleet supply and operation works for Network Rail.
The trading update also mentioned contract wins at its US civils and buildings businesses.
Balfour Beatty expects to complete a £125m share-buyback programme by the end of 2025. So far, it has bought back about £46m worth of shares.
“[Balfour Beatty] remains committed to a selective bidding approach in the continued pursuit of a high-quality and low-risk forward-order book,” it added.
In an analyst’s note this morning, investment bank Peel Hunt said it estimates Balfour Beatty will report a full-year pre-tax profit this year of £267m – up from £214m the year before – with only “modest upside risk”.
Peel Hunt also forecasts pre-tax profit of £308.4m and £321.6m in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Balfour Beatty’s underlying revenue surpassed £10bn for the first time in the year to 31 December 2024. Leo Quinn – who will leave Balfour Beatty this year after 10 years as its chief executive – said the results were evidence of “further strong progress”.
Quinn will be succeeded by AtkinsRéalis chief operating officer Philip Hoare in September, but will remain at the contractor in an advisory capacity for several months during a transition period.