Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, reports this year it has received a number of good contract wins, which has resulted in the order book moving ahead of the 2009 year-end figure of £14.1 billion.

The group stated this in its Interim Management Statement, which covers the period 1 January to 11 May 2010.

Construction services continues to perform in line with expectations, benefiting from a strong order book and good operational delivery across a broad range of customers both in the UK and elsewhere in the world.

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In the UK, there has been good progress on all its major projects, including the M25, Blackfriars Station and the London 2012 Aquatics Centre.

The firm said: "We will look to take advantage of opportunities outside the public sector, one example being our recent acquisition of Multibuild, which is focused on the private sector retail and leisure markets.

"Our cash position remains robust, with average net cash in excess of £400 million for the first quarter of 2010 (excluding net debt in PPP subsidiaries), partly as a result of PB post-acquisition cash flows remaining ahead of expectations."

(CD)