Balfour Beatty gets lift off from Hong Kong airport

Balfour Beatty's Hong Kong joint venture, Gammon Construction, has won a significant airport contract on its home territory, while Balfour itself has reported revenue and profit growth for 2011.

Total group revenues rose 3% on the prior year to hit £11.035bn; while underlying profits from continuing operations rose 2% to £331m. Pre-tax profits came in at £334m, 9% ahead of 2010.

The group's full year dividend has been boosted by 9% to 13.8p per share.

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Three out of four of Balfour Beatty's divisions saw profits from operations grow during 2011, with Support Services, which looks for maintenance contracts for assets once they are built, gaining 8% over the year to hit £67m.

The firm's biggest division, Construction, saw profits fall 16% to £169m on revenues of £7.05bn. Construction also saw its order book decline by 8% to £8.5bn. The group's total order book "held steady" at £15.2bn.

Gammon's contract is for the construction of a new concourse in the central area of Hong Kong airport, with work starting immediately and scheduled for completion in September 2015

Ian Tyler, Balfour Beatty's Chief Executive, described Gammon deal as "very significant".

Commenting on the group's results he said he was: "excited by the opportunities in growth sectors such as rail and power and growth markets like Australia, Canada and India."

Shares in Balfour Beatty had risen 1.7% by 8:21am. Over the last 12 months the stock has fallen 24%.

BS