Major deals on London’s Crossrail project and the new £16 billion nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset have seen contractor Costain’s orders jump by a quarter to £3 billion, the firm said today.
Costain, which expects profits in line with City hopes — is to build three tunnels 11km in length to take in water from the Severn Estuary to the nuclear reactor before it is recycled and returned.
On Crossrail, the business won almost £500 million in new contracts last year including a £110 million deal to build Bond Street station.
The builder has also secured £750 million of work for this year so far — £50 million more than last year — and cheered analysts as the shares rose 4.25p to 288.25p.
Liberum Capital analyst William Stanley said: “Costain is moving up the value chain and is a potential take-over target. It has demonstrated impressive resilience through the downturn and strong recent contract momentum.”
