Blue chip companies help Costain to push forward order book to £2.5bn

Costain has announced that it remains resilient and continues to perform in line with the board’s expectations in a trading update ahead of its six-month results in August.

In the trading update, the group revealed that, thanks to a number of significant new contract awards since the beginning of the year, Costain has a forward order book of £2.5bn.  Around £1.0bn of work has been secured for 2010 and the group has preferred bidder positions of over £500m. Costain has also maintained its strong net cash position of in excess of £100m, and has no significant borrowings.

The group continues to stick to its strategy of targeting blue chip customers whose major spending plans are underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments or essential maintenance requirements in chosen sectors.

The update adds that the firm has brought its environment and community activities together into the same division to focus on the water and waste markets. The infrastructure and energy & process divisions will continue to target opportunities in their markets.

Costain is due to announce interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2010 on 25 August.