Balfour Beatty’s US order book jumps 26% amid focus on buildings business

Image: Balfour Beatty

Balfour Beatty’s total order book grew 12% to £18.4 billion (€21.5 billion) in 2024. In addition to strong order growth in the US, Balfour Beatty also more than doubled its backlog of power transmission and distribution work in the UK.

The company’s total revenue increased 4.4% year on year to just over £10 billion (€11.7 billion) in 2024. Its underlying profit from earnings-based businesses rose 7% to £252 million (€295 million).

The company said its outlook for its chosen markets is positive through the medium term. It highlighted “essential” long-term upgrades to the UK’s energy infrastructure and its involvement in projects like the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station as likely drivers of growth for the future.

In the US, it said it would focus on states where growth is projected at 7% per year until 2029, ahead of the national average. It will also weight its activities in the US further towards its buildings business, which already contributed 87% of US construction revenues in 2024 (with the rest accounted for by its civils division). The company is particularly focused on the aviation, leisure, education, and government markets.

Balfour Beatty said it also anticipated growth in both the UK defence market, having been selected in 2024 by Rolls-Royce as a construction partner for its Ministry of Defence and AUKUS expansion.

And it is targeting the UK transport network, which it views as an important component of the UK government’s growth plans amid the need to address ageing infrastructure, net zero targets, and domestic and international connectivity.

When it came to Balfour Beatty’s 2024 financial performance in different segments, its US construction business generated the largest share of the revenue, at just over £3.6 billion (€4.2 billion) on a profit from underlying operations (PFO) margin of 1.1%. UK construction generated revenue of £3 billion (€3.5 billion) and a PFO margin of 2.7%. Gammon, the company’s 50:50 joint venture with Jardine Matheson based in Hong Kong, accounted for almost £1.6 billion (€1.9 billion) worth of revenue and a PFO margin of 2.6%. The company’s support services business generated £1.2 billion (€1.4 billion) in revenue and a PFO margin of 7.7%.

Leo Quinn, the company’s chief executive, who is due to step down later this year, said, “Balfour Beatty is well positioned to continue its disciplined performance in the medium term, with strong order book visibility, attractive opportunities in our growth markets of UK energy, transport and defence, and US buildings, and our expert, highly engaged workforce positioning the group for ongoing success.”