Hang on, what about the margins?

2024-09-12T06:00:00

Welcome as it is, Laing O’Rourke’s return to profit sparks familiar concerns about how much money firms in this industry are actually making, says Dave Rogers

This is not to pick on Laing O’Rourke or Balfour Beatty but we have to start somewhere, so why not at the top? They are, respectively, the biggest private contractor in this industry and the biggest listed contractor in this industry.

On Tuesday, Laing O’Rourke posted a turnover of £4.3bn and a pre-tax profit of £18m. Let that sink in. That is a pre-tax profit margin of nought point something or other. A return to profit from last year’s annus horribilis, when it shipped £288m, is welcome for sure, but £18m?

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