BALFOUR Beatty has reported revenue of £8.593 million for the year ending 31 December 2020 – a rise on 2019’s £8.411 million total.
Pre-tax profits, however, fell to £48 million from £138 million after the business took the decision to repay the cash from the UK Job Retention Scheme, which was set up in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Balfour Beatty reported a ‘strong’ cash performance with average net cash at £527 million (2019: £325 million), while higher quality order book increased by 15% to £16.4 billion. The board has recommended a final dividend of 1.5 pence.
Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty group chief executive, said, “Throughout the pandemic, we have protected the group’s strengths, supported our stakeholders and held firm to our disciplines. That we achieved this while exceeding our own targets for net cash demonstrates Balfour Beatty’s resilience and the dedication of our people and partners.
“Our leading positions in large growing infrastructure and construction markets, record year end order book and £1.1 billion Investments portfolio provide confidence in future cash generation. This underpins our new capital allocation framework which demonstrates Balfour Beatty’s commitment to deliver enhanced returns to shareholders.”
