Balfour Beatty plc (LON:BBY) bounced higher as profits beat expectations and brokers looked forward to a Budget boost for the construction sector.
The civil engineering contractor also raised the dividend for the year by a third and added it will review its capital structure once the full impact of coronavirus is known.
Balfour said the outbreak has had little impact so far as it reported profits for the year 45% higher at £200mln, with revenue flat at £8.4bn.
Orders rose by 13% to £14.3bn with Balfour set to be a prime beneficiary from the HS2 green light.
Two HS2 civils packages and the Old Oak Common station contract will add over £3bn to the order book in the first half of 2020, Balfour said and boost the UK construction book by 40%.
In the US, Balfour said the investigation into its military housing contracts is ongoing with no guidance given about how much it might eventually cost.
Broker Liberum has a price target of 400p and said earnings and a year-end cash balance of £325mln was ahead of its forecasts.