Construction and engineering firm Costain Group PLC (LON:COST) has confirmed it is on track to hit expectations when it announces its full-year results in March.
In a year end trading statement, Costain – which helped to build the Channel Tunnel – said it has “continued to perform well” since August’s interim results thanks to several new orders – including further wins as part of the development of HS2.
READ: Shares in Costain up 3% as profits grow by a third
Those orders mean the group finished the year ended 31 December 2017 with a “high-quality” order book of £3.9bn - £0.2bn higher than at the end of June and the same as what it had the year before.
Cash generation also picked up towards the end of the year, which allowed the Dolphin Square developer to finish 2017 with a strong net cash position of over £150mln (31 Dec 2016: £140.2mln).
‘Smart infrastructure solutions’
In recent years, Costain has been trying to move away from its traditional construction background towards a “smart infrastructure solutions company”.
It said on Thursday it is making good progress with this transition, pointing to its involvement in several recent operational trials of HGV platooning vehicles and self-driving cars.
“Costain has had another strong year,” said chief executive Andrew Wyllie.
“Our performance is a direct consequence of our differentiation and our ability to provide the rapidly changing range of integrated services required by our major clients.”
Shares advanced 1.4% to 471.5p early on Thursday.