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Balfour Beatty PLC on Wednesday announced an acceleration of growth achieved by UK Construction, and Support Services, amid strong demand for UK and US student accommodation. The London-based infrastructure building firm said pretax profit rose 18% to £132 million in the first financial half ended June 27, from £112 million a year ago. Revenue climbed 16% to £4.52 billion from £3.89 billion. Balfour Beatty said demand for student accommodation across the UK and US remained strong as universities continued to improve their facilities to attract students. Further, it noted ‘attractive’ US multifamily housing coming to market which provided the company with an opportunity to invest profitably in the regeneration of these properties. Meanwhile, Balfour Beatty emphasised opportunities for private sector investment as the UK’s energy mix transitions to more renewable sources. The company declared an interim dividend of 4.2 pence per share, up 11% from 3.8p a year ago. Further, Balfour Beatty said its multi-year share buyback programme is progressing well and that the current £125 million tranche is on track to be completed by the end of 2025. Looking ahead, the company expects UK Construction, Gammon and Support Services to continue their ‘good’ performance, offsetting reduced expectations for US Construction which is expected to deliver full year profit from operations of about £20 million due to the loss in US Civils. The firm maintained a positive longer-term outlook, citing an acceleration of growth achieved by Support Services and UK Construction in the first half. Balfour Beatty said: ‘The group’s outlook across its four strategic growth markets - UK energy transition and security, UK transport, UK defence, and US buildings - has continued to strengthen, supported by successful bidding activity and increased clarity around the UK’s infrastructure agenda. The UK government has started to make progress with its objective to stimulate economic growth by investing in and enabling infrastructure development, with its support for clean energy projects, private financing for public infrastructure, planning reform and modernising the UK’s defence estate all beneficial to the group.’ Chief Executive Officer Leo Quinn added: ‘Recent UK government announcements confirm a deep pipeline of major infrastructure projects which closely align with the group’s unique expert capabilities and will further enhance the quality of the future order book.’ Balfour Beatty shares were 3.1% lower at 551.00 pence each on Wednesday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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