11 July – trading statement
The group has issued a trading statement for the first half of the year ahead of the results announcement on 14 August. Despite challenging market conditions, there has been no real change in the group’s overall trading position since the Q1 trading statement issued in May, with the group’s forward order book remaining similar at £16bn. The UK construction business is expected to lose money in the first half although these are expected to be reversed in the second half with overall breakeven expected for the full year. The PFI asset disposal programme has continued with gains of £45m achieved in the first half, more than the £40m target for the year. Net debt is in line with expectations at £300m. Full year profits are expected to be skewed to the second half although these are likely to meet expectations – with earnings per share likely to be 25p and a maintained dividend of 14.1p on the cards the shares look good value on a p/e ratio of 9.2x and yield of 6.1%. BUY.