Mideast orders help boost UK Carillion’s H1 earnings

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GOOD SHOW: Carillion generates much of its revenue from government work and Public Private Partnership projects.(Getty Images)

UK building and outsourcing giant Carillion has reported improved first-half earnings, partly on the back of its continuing strong order book in the Middle East, according to a report.

The firm said that its Middle East construction services business would increase 2009 revenues to around$975m from $754m last year at margins of around six percent due to its strong order book in the region, newswire Reuters reported.

The Constructionweekonline.com quoted Carillion chief executive John McDonough as telling Reuters: “It's a myth that Dubai has completely stopped; there are opportunities there, but I wouldn't say it is booming.”

“Abu Dhabi is going well, and we're moving into Qatar next year, and we see the infrastructure side of things being very promising for us.”

Carillion, which generates much of its revenue from government work and Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, said its support services unit continued to benefit from long-term public sector contracts and that the economic downturn was creating a range of opportunities for the division.

"In the current economic climate, public and private sector organisations are increasingly seeking opportunities to reduce costs through outsourcing facilities management and other non-core services," Carillion said in a trading statement on Wednesday, ahead of its half-year results on August 27, according to Reuters.

“We expect to build on our strong first-half performance and achieve our objective of delivering materially enhanced earnings in 2009.”

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