Costain improves but order book shrinks

Civil engineering contractor Costain has posted improved profit and turnover for the first half of 2022.

Costain chief executive Alex Vaughan Costain’s group revenue for the six months to 30thJune was up 19% to £665.2m (2021 H1: £556.8m). Pre-tax profit was up 23% to £11.2m (2021 H1: £9.1m). The order book is down, reduced to £2.7bn as of 30th June 2022, compared to £4.0bn a year before and £3.4bn at the start of 2022, but bidding activity is reported to be high.

Chief executive Alex Vaughan said: "In the first half of the year we delivered a strong operating performance reflecting volume increases and the inflation recovery mechanisms built into our contracts. Our adjusted operating profit increased by 22% year-on-year, and we had a strong adjusted free cash performance, ending the period with £95.9m, with a positive net cash flow expected in the second half.