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BAM shrugs off Brexit fear as UK enjoys strong profits
Aaron Morby 47 mins ago
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The UK operations of Dutch construction group BAM bounced back in the first six months of the year after a strong performance by BAM Nuttall.
Reporting a good first half performance in the UK, Rob van Wingerden, CEO of Royal BAM Group, said: “Since the Brexit vote, the only effect on BAM has been the translation of the weaker pound.”
He said that none of BAM’s three operating businesses, which include civils, building and PFI investments, had seen any cancellation of orders so far, with new contracts continuing to stream in.
Van Wingerden added that BAM had undertaken a thorough assessment of the implications of Brexit, and saw no material effect in the short term.
“Our UK order book is solid and we will maintain our tender discipline. We are monitoring new order intake closely and will adjust our operations if required,” he added.
The UK is BAM’s second largest market after the Netherlands accounting for nearly a third of group sales.
In a return to normal trading, UK profits more than quadrupled to nearly 18€m in the first six months of 2016 as revenue slipped 3% to 1 057€m.
The improved performance saw UK group margins restored to 1.7% compared with just 0.3% the year before.
Much of the profit growth was driven by BAM Nuttall and PPP activities after BAM Construction suffered small losses on a few projects in their closing phases.
While the Brexit vote had no effect on BAM’s trading in the first half. The fall in the pound reduced the reported revenue from BAM Construction and BAM Nuttall by around 63€m, and closing order book for the UK.
The combined UK order book at 30 June 2016 was 3€bn, with virtually all forecast revenue for this year secured.
Overall group pretax profit jumped from €13m in 2015 to €45m in the first six months, with turnover down slightly at €3.4bn.