WET News

THE LEADERS 2019 BAM NUTTALL St James House Knoll Road Camberley Surrey GU15 3XW Tel: 01276 63484 www.bamnuttall.co.uk BAM Nuttall's turnover was up 6 per cent to £674 million for the year ending 31 December 2017, although both its operating and pre-tax profits fell slightly. The Surrey-based UK infrastructure arm of Dutch parent company Royal Bam Group, which can trace its history back to 1865, describes itself as a leading-edge supplier of civil engineering services that is fully focused on delivering quality infrastructure projects. The company's performance in the last financial year was in line with group expectations, according to chief executive Stephen Fox, who said its order book has "increased significantly". During AMP6, BAM Nuttall has been working for South East Water as part of a joint venture with nmcn on non-infrastructure major works: this has included work on the £22 million expansion of the utility's Bray Keleher Water Treatment Works near Maidenhead, which has used offsite build techniques to great effect. It is also working on the west section of the Thames BAM focuses on quality Tideway Tunnel, in partnership with Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty. It is part of the Environment Agency's WEM framework, which provides it with a steady stream of work including flood alleviation projects. A joint venture of BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald is delivering the £42 million Humber Estuary flood defence scheme, which focuses on a 19km stretch of tidal flood defences to better protect homes and businesses in Hull. While the company is largely UK-focused, its international division recently secured the award of a water treatment project in Sierra Leone, working with Atkins and IMC Worldwide. BAM Nuttall was the main contractor responsible for creating the 670-hectare Wallasea Island Wild Coast in Essex, the largest coastal habitat creation of its kind in Europe. In February this year, BAM Nuttall renewed a framework partnership with Lanes Group, which has seen the drainage specialist deliver services for scores of projects on behalf of the civil engineering contractor. THE NUMBERS 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change Sales £m 7,488.0 7,264.0 6,955.0 6,923.0 6,916.0 0 Gross profit £m 435.0 131.0 157.0 284.0 311.0 10 Operating profit £m -33.0 -334.0 -226.0 -41.0 89.0 n/a Pre-tax profit £m -49.0 -304.0 -199.0 10.0 117.0 1,070 Staff 49,785 39,751 23,316 22,450 20,940 -7 Net assets £m 1,033.0 1,227.0 826.0 762.0 1,066.0 40 THE RATIOS 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change Return on capital % -4.7 -24.8 -24.1 1.3 11.0 736 Gross margin % 5.8 1.8 2.3 4.1 4.5 10 Operating margin % -0.4 -4.6 -3.2 -0.6 1.3 n/a Net margin % -0.7 -4.2 -2.9 0.1 1.7 1,071 Sales/employee £k 150.4 182.7 298.3 308.4 330.3 7 BALFOUR BEATTY 5 Churchill Place Canary Wharf London E14 5HU Tel: 020 7216 6800 www.balfourbeatty.com Balfour Beatty believes revival is built to last A period of heavy losses led Balfour Beatty to experience what chief executive Leo Quinn described as a "near-death experience" four years ago, but the construction giant made a £10 million pre-tax profit in 2016 that leapt to £117 million in 2017. That year's £6.9 billion turnover was the highest in the Leaders database, and its results for the year ending 31 December 2018 saw a further increase in pre-tax profit to £123 million, enabling the company to reduce gross debt by 40 per cent. Quinn put the upturn in fortunes down to the Build to Last turnaround programme, which was launched in 2015. "These results demonstrate the value being created through Build to Last," Quinn said. "We continue to strengthen the group and meet our targets. The businesses are back at industry standard margins, underpinned by a strong balance sheet and asset base, but Balfour Beatty's transformation goes well beyond resolving the issues of forced growth. "We have relentlessly invested in capability and leadership to forge a culture which provides sustainable competitive advantage through standardisation of our systems and processes, on a reducing overhead base." In December, Balfour Beatty announced the appointment of by former Network Rail director Matthew Steele as managing director of its gas and water business and the company is now working on securing contracts for AMP7. Its AMP6 contracts include the Advance joint venture with MWH Treatment for United Utilities and the SMB JV with MWH Treatment and Skanska for Thames Water. Earlier this year, Balfour Beatty began work on a new £15 million water treatment works at Little Wratting for Anglian Water, which is due to be completed next summer. THE NUMBERS 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change Sales £m 756.0 770.1 787.1 637.0 673.8 6 Gross profit £m 169.5 144.9 n/a n/a n/a n/a Operating profit £m 8.6 -20.2 17.4 12.7 11.7 -8 Pre-tax profit £m 10.7 -18.3 18.2 14.3 12.8 -11 Staff 3,060 3,122 3,053 2,803 2,843 1 Net assets £m 102.4 82.6 101.8 95.8 113.8 19 THE RATIOS 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change Return on capital % 10.4 -22.1 17.9 14.9 11.2 -25 Gross margin % 22.4 18.8 n/a n/a n/a n/a Operating margin % 1.1 -2.6 2.2 2.0 1.7 -13 Net margin % 1.4 -2.4 2.3 2.2 1.9 -16 Sales/employee £k 247.1 246.7 257.8 227.3 237.0 4 8 LEADERS 2019

• Cover