(recasts with detail about successful share placing)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Balfour Beatty Plc. announced the completion of a 186 million pounds share issue to finance more acquisitions and organic growth, and said it expects performance this year to be at the top end of current expectations.
The international engineering and construction group said it had successfully placed 43,320,411 shares with institutional investors, representing about 10 percent of the company's issued share capital, at a price of 430 pence per share.
It said it would use the proceeds of the placing to strengthen the balance sheet of the group in the light of completed and expected acquisitions and to increase its flexibility to grow.
Balfour said in a trading statement accompanying its annual meeting that order intake and trading performance will remain strong during the course of 2008.
The company said its strong year-end order book of 11.4 billion pounds continues to grow, giving good visibility of future work.
The group said it expects to close three contracts for which it is preferred bidder, with a total construction value of 320 million pounds and an equity commitment of 14 million pounds, in the near future.
It said operating cash flow had again been very satisfactory, although the group's average net cash position had reduced as a result of acquisition spending.
Good progress in its building operations is continuing, with particularly strong performances in Balfour Beatty Construction in the United States and in the United Kingdom, Mansell and Haden Building Management, which secured a large extension to its facilities management contract with BT during the period.
There had been good progress in the company's engineering business, with a particularly strong performance in the existing UK regional civil engineering network.
Progress in rail had also been good, as market prospects continue to improve, although the period had not benefited from one-off settlements of historic projects, as was the case in the first months of last year.
Chairman Sir David John said in the trading statement that he is handing over the chairmanship after today's annual meeting to Steve Marshall. TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com bsu/ejp/paw/ejp/paw/cmr COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
© 2008 AFX News
