Balfour Beatty Share Discussion Threads

[poley] 14/1/2014 14:01

She's about to drop her drawers i reckon.

[haywards26] 14/1/2014 13:27

I am surprised by the strength of the rise off the back of the trading update. I saw nothing of real excitement. Earnings continue to bump along. Disposal of assets only serves to reduce future earnings. There are still several loss making problem contracts causing issues and will be a drag.

Year end position - still a net debt after the Workspace disposal.

The contract win announcements frequency has improved of late which is a good sign. But the size of these contracts are not large/significant as such announcements once were.

I took the opportunity to sell a third or my holding this morning at just over 3.01.

[mechanical trader] 14/1/2014 09:46

Up 4% now ......lubbly jubbly.

poley have you bought back bud?.

be quick if I were you could be a 10% day rise for BBY. ..................................SMIRK

[skinny] 14/1/2014 09:28

Apparently this is an upgrade, although it looks the same as their November note.

Investec Sell 300.30 170.00 - Upgrades

[mechanical trader] 14/1/2014 09:15

loads and loads errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr money.

[mechanical trader] 14/1/2014 08:38

SP racing away upwards, expect Broker upgrades.

[mechanical trader] 14/1/2014 08:20

Looks like shorters closing and buying back stock.

[mechanical trader] 14/1/2014 08:14

SP rising positive for the day now.....lovely.

[mechanical trader] 14/1/2014 08:13

Cash position, very strong.

You shorters had better do better than that.

[amt] 14/1/2014 08:00

Yet another profit warning, albeit a mild one.

[mechanical trader] 14/1/2014 07:58

LOL, not at all..........

BBY trading in line, strong cash performance in December.

[poley] 14/1/2014 07:38

Bit of a profit warning today i think ;

''Overall trading of our continuing businesses remains in line with the Board's expectations as at the time of the Group's Q3 Interim Management Statement on 5 November 2013''

''In Professional Services, performance overall was as expected, including Australia where cost reduction measures are mitigating the impact of the continued challenging market conditions. Elsewhere, the arbitration process of the previously disclosed contract dispute is well advanced. Our view of the outcome is unchanged, but it is becoming less likely that a settlement will be achieved in time to be recognised in the 2013 results''

''We anticipate the year end order book for our continuing businesses to be broadly in line with the £13.5 billion from 31 December 2012. The order book has been impacted by negative foreign exchange movements, and a continuing shift in the mix of our Construction order book from the UK to the US''

''Performance of the German rail business has worsened since the Q3 Interim Management Statement, primarily due to three complex loss-making contracts. Discussions with a number of potential buyers for the business remain ongoing''

[mechanical trader] 08/1/2014 12:38

Balfour starts piling for Greenwich hotel 8/1/2014

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering (BBGE) has begun piling works for the new O2 Arora Intercontinental Hotel in Greenwich.


The 1800 piles for the hotel are made of precast concrete and have been manufactured at the BBGE plant in Nottinghamshire. For maximum sustainability, they contain 99% recycled steel and 25% cement replacement using 100% recycled water.

Balfour Beatty said that the start of piling marked the beginning of a construction programme that will be completed in two years. A ground-breaking ceremony was held six months ago, back in July 2013.

The hotel is part of a £121m development next to the O2 Arena (formerly Millennium Dome). It will also include The Peninsula Tower, a 23-storey development offering 100 serviced apartments.

Client is Grove Developments.

[mechanical trader] 08/1/2014 08:21

08 Jan 2014 Balfour Beatty PLC BBY Deutsche Bank Buy 274.00 293.80 280.00 280.00 Reiterates

[mechanical trader] 07/1/2014 15:54

Questor share tip: Balfour Beatty still a long term buy


FTSE 250-listed infrastructure construction group will take time to recover but the signs are encouraging, says Questor

By John Ficenec, Questor editor6:00AM GMT 07 Jan 2014
Balfour Beatty
293½p+3
Questor says BUY

Balfour Beatty has won a £154m deal to transform London's Olympic stadium, a contract that hints at the tentative UK recovery ahead of the group's trading update next week.
Infrastructure construction has been a tough sector since the 2008 crash. Government budgets have been slashed and fierce competition has forced down profit margins. In some cases companies have even bid for work at a loss just to keep going.
Balfour generates 73pc of its revenue and about 40pc of operating profit from construction. Shares in the group are 40pc down from highs of 500p in 2007 and have largely traded sideways for the past five years.
However, there are some encouraging signs. Balfour said in November that profitability in construction services business improved during the third quarter. The UK was lifted by an increase in housebuilding and in the US the company reported construction revenue growth accelerating into the second half of the year.

The company is certainly winning more work. The Olympic stadium conversion contract comes in addition to £860m in new work announced since June. Analysts expect Balfour to announce a reasonably steady order book of about £13.5bn in next Tuesday's update.
There could still be pressure on profit margins in the year ahead – an example of this is the fact that bricklayers have seen daily rates rise about 60pc during the past 12 months. However, new contracts signed by Balfour over the past six months should reflect this and other cost pressures.
"We see last year as the trough for construction services profit margins and expect things to get better this year, but not massively," said Howard Seymour, analyst with Numis.
Balfour is also facing a cash squeeze in the year ahead. As work increases, money has to be spent to start projects, but the company has to wait until targets are hit to receive payment, meaning that, rather perversely, as Balfour starts to recover it goes through its tightest cash period. Cash from operations has fallen during the past 18 months and net debt has risen to £350m.
This tight cash situation has been exacerbated by delayed payment from a contract in Balfour's professional services division, which manages construction projects. Investors will be expecting an update on the payment, thought to be in the region of £10m, next week. The division contributes about a third of group operating profit, but has suffered from a sharp decline in profitability during the past year as it is exposed to the Australian mining sector, which is suffering as the commodities boom wanes.
All this leads to the dividend payment, which is now under pressure because of the strain on cash. The company paid 14.1p in total last year, but the consensus for this year is for the dividend to be trimmed to 13.5p, with some analysts pencilling in a cut to 10p.
Balfour has taken action to improve the balance sheet. The sale of the Workplace division should bring about £150m, reducing net debt to £200m. The group's investments in PPI projects are also performing well.
The shares have risen 7pc since Questor recommended them as an early stage recovery play at 273p in October. At the time Questor fully expected more pain in construction sector margins. There has been little to change this fundamental view, so the "buy" recommendation is maintained.

[poley] 06/1/2014 15:31

Statement coming up from the group.

Looks to be forecast to make 186 mill PBT for the full year.

Subtract the tax of say 25% or 45 mill and capex of around 50 mill and 20 mill in purchase of intangible assets and then the pension deficit payment of 58 mill then i dont see much value here whilst its trading on a 2 billion market cap even after the profits from investments.

Debt issued every year since 2008 to 2012 ;

>> 81 121 53 282 350

Terrible margins. 100 mill pa divi also.

[yf23_1] 26/12/2013 12:32

Zak: Finally, we are looking at the daily chart of Balfour Beatty (BBY) & where it has been a rocky ride in recent months, especially the period of consolidation from April to August this year after the unfilled gap to the downside. However, the current situation where there has been a Bull flag consolidation/rectangle pattern since the end of September does suggest that we are looking for at least one fresh leg to the upside, and of a significant nature. Indeed, the idea here would be that while there is no end of day close back below Friday support at £2.79 we could see a top of April price channel target as high as £3.20 over the next 2 to 4 weeks.

[leecoyote] 26/12/2013 10:11

Looks like on of Zak Mir's tips for 2014!

[jonntara] 23/12/2013 15:35

Sold a third of my holding today. Bought then at 220 ish in July. I think I will get a chance to buy them back a little cheaper during the next few months.

[mike740] 23/12/2013 08:48

Taken from across the road>>>>> Galvan

Excelent write up....

[mechanical trader] 23/12/2013 08:08

Broker note out this morning....

23 Dec 2013 Balfour Beatty PLC BBY Deutsche Bank Buy

[mechanical trader] 22/12/2013 21:43

Lovely gap to be filled up to 305p on the longer term
chart. Ultimately looking for 360p plus over a 3 month period.

[mechanical trader] 22/12/2013 17:39

SP set up for a major breakout where resistance at present level goes back to January 2013.