Balfour Beatty has announced a ‘solid performance’ find 2023, with increased revenue but reduced profits.
According to the firm’s full-year results for 2023, its revenue was up by 7% from £8.9bn in 2022 to £9.6bn, with pre-tax profit falling from £287m to £244m.
The firm’s UK Construction business delivered around a third (£3.027bn) of its revenue for the year, up from £2.763bn the previous year. Group chief executive Leo Quinn said: ‘The Group’s reliability and resilience has again delivered a solid performance, with increased revenue and profit from our earnings-based businesses and strong operating cash flow.
‘This success against a challenging economic backdrop is driven by our disciplined contract risk management across a geographically and operationally diversified portfolio.’
He added: ‘Looking to 2025 and beyond, we expect our unique capabilities and complex infrastructure project experience to drive further earnings growth, with attractive opportunities being pursued in the UK energy, transport and defence markets and in the US.'
Strike action
The results were published as the Unite Union announced that around 150 M25 maintenance workers employed by Balfour Beatty have voted to strike over pay, which it said ‘will cause serious disruption to journey times’.
Balfour Beatty is a partner in the Connect Plus joint venture, that manages and operates the M25 network on behalf of National Highways.
Unite said the workers from depots in Barnet, Uxbridge, Swanley, Epping and Dartford are angry at Balfour Beatty’s ‘meagre’ offer of a 3.4% rise.
The union pointed to the current inflation rate of 4.9%, as well as the firm’s increased revenue and 2% rise in underlying profits from operations.
General secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Providing these workers with a fair pay rise would not even dent Balfour Beatty huge profits. Balfour Beatty is hugely profitable - its pay offer is all about greed not need.’
A Balfour Beatty spokesperson said: 'We are disappointed by Unite the Union’s decision to proceed with strike action.
‘We remain committed to working with them to reach an appropriate outcome, and would like to reassure travellers that suitable contingency plans are in place to minimise any potential disruption’. Unite said dates for industrial action will be announced in the coming days.'
