The second phase of Balfour Beatty chief executive Leo Quinn’s ‘Build to Last’ transformation programme is continuing to deliver “fundamental change” to the company, according to a trading update issued this morning.

The update, which covered the period to 11 December 2017, revealed that group performance in 2017 remains in line with Board expectations, with the business increasingly confident of achieving industry-standard margins in the second half of 2018.

The group continues to win new business in its chosen markets on terms and at rates which reflect the bidding discipline and risk management introduced under Build to Last. The 2017 year end order book is expected to be broadly in line with the half year, post disposals.

The company continues to execute its strategy to simplify the group and strengthen the balance sheet. The proceeds from the recent disposal of Heery International, operating cash flows and expected future sales from the Investments portfolio, place Balfour Beatty in an excellent position to pay down borrowings as they fall due in 2018.

Quinn, who joined Balfour Beatty as chief executive at the start of 2015 with instructions to save the company after its £304 million loss in 2014, said that he expects the year end net cash to be in line with prior year, with average net cash for the year around £40m.

Leo Quinn said: “The actions that we have taken during the first three years of Build to Last have laid a solid foundation for long term profitable growth. We continue to invest in our capabilities while de-risking the business.

“The order book increasingly consists of projects bid and delivered under our enhanced transparency, governance and controls and I remain confident that the group will achieve industry-standard margins in the second half of 2018.”

Balfour Beatty’s full year 2017 results will be published in March 2018.