Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/323010
leaders 2104 7 The Numbers 10 11 12 %ChaNge Sales £M 8,654 8,656 8,745 1 Gross profit £M n/a 989 863 -13 Operating profit £M n/a 192 132 -31 Pre-tax profit £M 292 277 187 -32 Staff 50,195 50,174 49,785 -1 Net assets £M 0 1,065 1,035 -3 The raTIOs 11 12 13 %ChaNge Return on capital % n/a 26 18.1 -31 Gross margin % n/a 11.4 9.9 -14 Operating margin % n/a 2.2 1.5 -32 Net margin % 3.4 3.2 2.1 -33 Sales/employee £K 172.4 172.5 175.7 2 the AMP5 regulatory water cycle nears completion in 2015. Revenue for the year was up 10% at £1.26M, as a result of strong performance in the power sector – up 18% on 2012. Underlying profit from continuing operations increased to £55M (2012: £30M), resulting in an underlying operating margin of 4.3% compared with 2.6% in 2012. There was a particularly strong performance, accompanied by better than expected high volumes in power transmission in the fourth quarter, as well as a small settlement of multi-year commercial issues in the water sector. broader solutions In the near term, Balfour Beatty sees growth coming from the water and local authority sectors. In the water sector, it is "actively bidding" for AMP6 contracts with a number of the major water companies with a focus on offering broader solutions for clients leveraging on its recent success with Thames Water. The continuing outsourcing trend by local government will provide additional growth opportunities for Balfour Beatty Living Places, which increasingly looks to leverage its strong position in the highways and street lighting markets to provide additional complementary services to local authority clients. Balfour Beatty says infrastructure "remains a good place to be". As the global economy begins to strengthen and confidence returns, the long term drivers for infrastructure investment remain positive. Over the next five years alone, the global infrastructure market is estimated to be worth £12 trillion, says the group.