LONDON (ShareCast) - Civil engineer Balfour Beatty reported trading in line with expectations but said orders were flat at £11.7bn at the end of the third quarter.
Balfour, which has replaced its chief executive with former Qinetiq boss Leo Quinn and has fended off a takeover bid from rival Carillion, said the order book stood at £11.7bn, flat on the half-year stage.

It restated the order book at the half-year from the reported £13bn to £11.7bn from continuing operations, to take account of its sale of US engineering group Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Construction services increased orders to £7.9bn, driven largely by an increase in the US, predominantly due to foreign exchange movements, and by contracts in the UK announced in the period.

The growth was offset by an expected reduction in support services orders to £3.7bn as the group continued to complete long- term power and water contracts.

Balfour also said it expected annual net debt to fall to about £400m from £477m previously due to proceeds from the Parsons Brinckerhoff sale.

It said it was still focusing on measures to address issues in its UK construction business including overhead cuts and more supply chain savings.

"The independent review by KPMG of the contract portfolio within Construction Services UK is well under way, with the report expected by the end of 2014," it said.

"The remainder of the construction services division and the group's other operating divisions, support services and infrastructure Investments, continued to trade as expected."

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