Civil engineer Balfour Beatty (LON:BBY) said its recovery drive was paying off despite dropping into the red in the first half.
Balfour, which faced a takeover approach last year from rival Carillion as it struggled with problem contracts, said ongoing issues had led to a total underlying loss of £135mln against a profit of £37mln a year ago.
The group, which has launched a shake-up under new chief executive Leo Quinn, said it was getting to grips with the problems.
It said it expected more than 90% of the historic UK problem contracts to be at practical or financial completion by the end of 2016.
Balfour has also overhauled its management team and said it was on track with plans to cut £100mln in costs within two years.
It said it was winning business on better terms across its markets including contracts on the Bergstrom Expressway in Austin Texas, electrical work on the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station and a UK motorway package.
The half-year order book was stable at £11.3bn against £11.4bn in the full year 2014 and underlying revenue was also steady at £4.085bn versus £4.072bn last time.
Quinn said: "Six months in, our Build to Last transformation programme is gaining traction throughout the business."
Shares rose 9.6p to 261.3p.
Broker Numis Securities, which has an 'add' recommendation on Balfour Beatty, said: "The stock remains a special situation as a recovery stock, but we believe these first steps are positive ones."