Carillion stays on track

Support services firm Carillion said it had seen a significant rise in first-half revenue, putting it on track to meet market expectations for 2015 and beyond.

The company, which maintains railways, roads and military bases, said the pace of new order intake slowed in the first half as the General Election delayed public-sector contract awards, but the value of its secured and probable orders remained strong at about £17bn. Analysts on average expect Carillion to report full-year pretax profit of £178.2m.