Costain positive on year ahead

Engineering group Costain said its full year results would come in in line with expectations when it reports in March.

As a result of new orders and contract extensions the group finished the year with an order book of £2.4bn - just off the £2.5bn at the end of 2011 - of which over 90% is repeat orders.

The firm said more than £700m of work had already been secured for 2013, topping the previous year's figure of £650m.

In addition, Costain has a preferred bidder position on over £400m-worth of contracts.

The company added that it finished the year with a strong cash position and no significant borrowings.

Chief Executive Andrew Wyllie said his business continued to be successful by focusing on meeting the increasingly integrated service requirements of major customers.