Costain is on course to deliver results in line with the Board’s expectations thanks to several new contract wins, the firm said today.

Issuing a trading update ahead of announcing results for the year ended 31 December 2017 on 1 March 2018, the firm said it has “continued to perform well” since the announcement of its interim results on 23 August 2017.

As a result of new orders, including further awards on the High Speed 2 programme, the Group has finished the year with a high-quality order book maintained at £3.9 billion (31 December 2016: £3.9bn).

In addition, Costain has a preferred bidder position at c. £400 million (31 December 2016: £500m). Following very good cash generation towards the end of the period, the group finished the year with a strong net cash position of over £150m (31 December 2016: £140.2m).

In recent years, Costain has been trying to move away from its traditional construction background towards a “smart infrastructure solutions company”.

It said 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.

Andrew Wyllie CBE, chief executive, said: “Costain has had another strong year. 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.”