Britain’s largest construction group defied the downturn in the sector last year thanks to a turnaround strategy that helped to almost treble its profits.
Balfour Beatty said underlying profit rose from £69m to £196m on flat revenues of £8.2m and it was on track to achieve industry standard margins by the second half of the year.
It was given a £165m boost from the sale of its stake in a consortium that operates London’s M25; £85m of this was booked as profit and represents a return of more than four times its original investment in 2009.
