Carillion has made a good start to 2013, winning new orders and probable orders in the first seven weeks of the year that are expected to be worth some £650 million.

In the Middle East they have secured probable orders worth approximately £210 million for projects in Oman, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, where they expect to begin delivering their first major project during 2013.

In support services, the firm have won orders and probable orders worth some £280 million. This includes facilities management contracts in the UK and Canada, a further highways maintenance contract in Canada and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) contracts in the UK. These ECO contracts are initially worth some £75 million, but have significant potential for growth.

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In construction services (excluding the Middle East), theyhave secured new and probable orders worth approximately £160 million, for long-term public and private sector customers.

In line with their policy of selling equity in mature Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, they have sold investment in the Permanent Joint Headquarters, Northwood project. This sale generated cash proceeds of £29.4 million, which represented a discount rate in line with the average seven per cent, at which they have been consistently selling PPP equity investments.

Commenting, Carillion Chief Executive, Richard Howson, said: ''Although markets remain challenging, we have made a good start to the year in terms of new orders and probable orders and I am particularly pleased with our progress in the Middle East and in the ECO market. We have also remained selective in terms of the contracts for which we bid in order to support margins, by focusing on contracts where we can use the breadth of our skills and the scale of our resources to differentiate our offering.

"The secondary market for PPP equity remains strong and continues to support our policy of selling investments in mature projects and reinvesting the proceeds in new projects."

(GK)