Pre-tax profit rises 23% to £10.1m as contractor targets work with long-term strategic value

Costain has increased profit on a lower turnover after a move away from low margin activity.

Pre-tax profit rose 23% to £10.1m on a turnover of £468.5m for the six months to 30 June 2011.

The contractor reported an order book of £2.3bn at 30 June and said it had secured £900m of revenue in the first six months.

It said it would continue to focus on sectors “underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments or essential maintenance requirements”.

Costain said it had finance in place to make acquisitions after increasing its banking facilities by £90m to £435m in June.

Chairman David Allvey said: “Looking ahead, despite continuing challenging market conditions, we see significant opportunity for the continued successful implementation of our strategy and the delivery of the board’s ambition of doubling profit over the medium term.”

The dividend increased by 8% to 3.25p

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