Costain has made a solid start to 2018 with a "strong" net cash position and "high-quality" order book.

In a trading update ahead of announcing its results for the year on 01 March 2018, the contractor revealed a number of new orders, including further awards on the High Speed 2 programme, helped maintain the Group's order book at £3.9 billion (31 December 2016; £3.9bn).

In addition, the company finished the year with a net cash position of over £150 million (31 December 2016: £140.2m), as well as having a preferred bidder position at circa £400m (31 December 2016; £500m).

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In a statement, Costain said: "The Group is making good progress in its transformation into the UK's leading smart infrastructure solutions company.

"Examples of recent activity in this regard include the Group's involvement in the operational trials of HGV platooning vehicles, the Government funded testbeds for connected and autonomous vehicles, and asset optimisation for a number of water utilities. We have also appointed technology leader Jacqueline de Rojas CBE as a non-executive director."

Chief Executive, Andrew Wyllie CBE, said: "Costain has had another strong year. Our performance is a direct consequence of our differentiation and our ability to provide the rapidly changing range of integrated services required by our major clients."

(LM/MH)