Costain’s green arm leads way

Engineering and construction firm Costain reported a 23 per cent jump in its first-half pre-tax profit as its environment division offset the decline in other units, and raised the interim divi- dend.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Aug 2011, 07:00 BST

The company, which on Monday announced the acquisition of operations and maintenance support services firm Promanex, expects to report continued progress at the year-end in line with its view. Costain’s order book stood at £2.3bn as on June 30, down 8 per cent from last year.

In March, business services group Mouchel rejected a takeover offer from Costain, which was matched up against Interserve in the bidding war .

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Costain, which said it raised its interim dividend by 8 per cent to 3.25 pence, in May received a waste water treatment contract for upgradation as part of a joint venture with Galliford Try and Atkins.

Meanwhile, fellow engineer AMEC said buoyant activity in the energy fields of the UK’s North Sea and growth in the mining, nuclear and renewables sectors helped it post higher first-half core earnings and bolstered its order intake.

AMEC, which designs and builds infrastructure for the oil and gas, nuclear and renewable energy sectors, reported earnings of £122m on revenue 4 per cent higher at £1.48bn.

Samir Brikho, chief executive, said AMEC was benefiting from “unbelievable” growth in mining, as well as shifts towards renewable energy and a still active North Sea.

Related topics:North Sea