Royal BAM Group has said the strong pound has helped its UK business return to profit and increase total group revenue by 4% to £2.5bn (€3.5bn) in the first six months of 2015.
Half-year pre-tax profits for the group were £14M, up from just £3.25M in the first half of 2014.
In civil engineering, revenue grew by 2% or £30M, to a total revenue of £1.35bn (€1.9bn). The division as a whole jumped from a loss of £14M in the first half of 2014 to a profit of £16M for the first half of this year.
United Kingdom revenue for the first half of 2014 was £700M, with a £2.75M profit, bringing it back in black after a £2.7 loss for the same time last year.
BAM Group CEO Rob van Wingerden said: “BAM continued to move in the right direction in the first half of 2015. The Back in Shape programme, which has been underway now for ten months, is making fundamental improvements in our culture, structure and processes. The working capital reduction programme is strengthening our net cash position and the savings from non - project overheads are coming through. The order book is improving as new projects are being won under the enhanced procedures and existing projects get nearer to completion. This progress is made possible by the commitment and engagement of all our staff across the Group.
“Looking ahead, we are confident about the course we are taking but cautious regarding the mixed conditions in our markets and the challenges at some older projects. We maintain our outlook for the full year 2015: we expect the adjusted result before tax will be higher than the level of 2014, with a larger contribution coming from the operational sectors.”
