Balfour Beatty plc (LSE:BBY) shares traded higher on Thursday after hiking full-year guidance and signalling further share buybacks were to come in 2025.
Pre-tax profit was set to top market expectations for £209 million, marking an improvement from last year, Balfour said in a third-quarter update on Thursday.
Average monthly net cash was also seen ahead of previous guidance for £750 million, as revenue looked to climb by 2% on last year’s £9.6 billion.
Performance across the UK, where Balfour is involved in the construction of the HS2 railway and Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, had remained strong, the company said.
Delays at a number of civil projects had hit the profitability of Balfour’s US business in the meantime.
“In 2024, the group has once again shown the benefit of the geographical and operational diversity of our portfolio, delivering an encouraging overall performance,” chief executive Leo Quinn commented.
Balfour also said it intended to launch buybacks for a fifth successive year in 2025 after £160 million was returned to shareholders through dividends and repurchases in 2024.
Shares climbed 2.3% to 462.60p on Thursday.