The head of construction firm Balfour Beatty said there will be opportunities in the UK infrastructure market, despite public spending cuts, as the private sector drives growth in the mid-to-long term, according to Reuters. "I see a real opportunity, the government is going to have to look for private sector funding increasingly," chief executive Ian Tyler told Reuters, citing the power market as an example. "There is going to be a growth in infrastructure spend, the only question is where it's going to be funded from," he added in an interview after the company reported full-year pretax profit ahead of expectations. Concerns over public spending cuts, ahead of a general election and in reaction to a rising UK deficit, have weighed on UK infrastructure companies in the past 12 months. However Balfour has more reasons to be cheerful than its smaller peers, given its decreasing exposure to the UK public spending, now accounting for just under a quarter of sales. The group has also positioned itself to benefit from the U.S. stimulus spend in 2010 and global growth, shielding it from less public spending at home. Its acquisition of U.S. project management firm Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million last year was a "a significant piece in the jigsaw" in becoming a global infrastructure services business, said Tyler. It reported a 8 percent dividend rise to 12 pence per share. SUPPORT SERVICES BOOM Britain's biggest construction company said underlying pretax profit in 2009 rose 7 percent to 267 million pounds ($402 million) from 249 million in 2008. This is in line with a forecast of 266 million pounds taken from a poll of 7 analysts, supplied by the company. Balfour Beatty, whose activities span engineering, construction, road and rail transport, said its order book rose 10 percent year-on-year to 14.1 billion pounds, which it said gives it "good forward visibility". The group's bottom line was boosted by growth in its construction, infrastructure investments and support services divisions. Tyler added support services will grow by 15 to 20 percent over the next couple of years while transportation spend in the UK will continue to expand. The group also announced winning its first public private partnership (PPP) investment in the U.S. outside military housing on Thursday, for a $123 million contract to expand on-campus accommodation for students at Florida Atlantic University. Shares in Balfour were down 0.8 percent to 276.3 pence at 0908 GMT. Analysts say concerns about public spending cuts in the UK are fully reflected in its share price. "The solid results today and bullish outlook for the coming year underscores the value in the shares," said Charlie Menegators, senior trader at Accendo Markets. ($1=.6642 Pound)
