The Balfour Beatty Board is committed to a sustainable ordinary dividend which is expected to grow over time. Following uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the dividend was re-introduced in March 2021 at a targeted pay-out ratio of 40% of underlying profit after tax excluding gain on disposal of Infrastructure Investments assets.
The Board has announced an interim dividend of 3.0 pence for 2021, 43% higher than the corresponding pre-pandemic dividend for 2019 (2020: Nil; 2019: 2.1 pence).
Other financial highlights include:
o Underlying profit from operations (PFO) at £60 million (2020: £14 million loss)
o Strong Support Services performance also benefited from end of contract gains and exit from gas and water sector
o Construction Services negatively impacted by private sector property projects in central London
o Re-commenced Infrastructure Investments disposals; Directors' valuation maintained at £1.1 billion (FY 2020: £1.1 billion)
o Continued strong cash performance with average net cash at £611 million (FY 2020: £527 million)
