Costain posts performance in line with expectations with a strong order book
ENGINEERING group Costain said its trading is line with expectations in an update yesterday, and that the firm has made a significant number of new contracts since the start of the year.
The firm said it has a forward order book of £2.5bn, with around £1bn worth of work secured for 2010.
The group also announced it has preferred bidder positions on contracts worth over £500m, in a move to soothe shareholders concerned about spending cuts in large public sector projects.
In recent years the group has worked on UK infrastructure projects such as St Pancras train station, the channel tunnel and Sellafield nuclear plant.
The group said it had recently merged its environment and community activities into a single division.
It has maintained a strong net cash position of more than £100m this year, with no significant debts. It will publish its full results for the half year in August.
Shares closed one per cent down at 200p, against an overall rise of 0.92 per cent in the FTSE All-Share Index.