Costain figures as expected

UK construction firm Costain is reporting that it had a good year, and said that it expected to deliver full-year results in line with the board’s expectations.

It said that it was working towards becoming “the UK’s leading smart infrastructure solutions company”.

Costain issued a trading update ahead of results for the year ended 31 December, 2017, which are due to be released on 1 March, 2018.

It said that since the announcement of its interim results on 23 August, 2017, the group had continued to perform well and expected to deliver full-year results in line with the board’s expectations.

It said the group was making good progress in its “transformation into the UK’s leading smart infrastructure solutions company”.

Among relevant examples of recent activity were the group’s involvement in the operational trials of HGV platooning vehicles, the government-funded testbeds for connected and autonomous vehicles, and asset optimisation for a number of water utilities.

Also, Costain has appointed Jacqueline de Rojas as a non-executive director.

Dr Paul Golby, chairman, said she was a recognised and highly regarded technology leader in the UK. She is currently a non-executive director at Rightmove, chair of the advisory board at the Digital Leaders Technology Group and president of techUK.

Previously a non-executive director of Home Retail Group prior to the divestment of this group, she has held executive positions at global blue-chip software companies such as Citrix Systems, CA Technologies, McAfee and Novell.

Complex challenges

Costain said it continued to differentiate itself by offering integrated technology, consultancy, asset optimisation and complex delivery services to meet “the ever more complex challenges of enhancing the nation’s infrastructure”.

It claimed that as a result of new orders, including further awards on the HS2 high-speed rail programme in the UK, the group finished the year with a high-quality order book maintained at £3.9 billion (€4.38 billion) – a similar figure to a year earlier.

In addition, Costain said it had a preferred bidder position at about £400 million (€448.88 million), compared to the figure at 31 December, 2016, of £500 million (€561.10 million).

CEO Andrew Wyllie said, “Costain has had another strong year. Our performance is a direct consequence of our differentiation and our ability to provide the rapidly changing range of integrated services required by our major clients.”