Balfour Beatty plc (LSE:BBY) shares jumped after the company reported strong results for 2025 and increased its planned share buyback, while also forecasting further profit growth in 2026.
The stock gained about 7% in London trading shortly after the announcement.
The group reported profit from operations in its earnings-based businesses of £293m for the year, supported by solid performance across both its UK and US operations. Analysts at Jefferies said the result exceeded their forecast of £272m.
One of the standout contributors was the Support Services division, which delivered margins of 8.5% in 2025—above expectations of 8.0%. The improvement was driven partly by increased activity on power infrastructure projects.
Overall operating profit for the year was £252m, broadly unchanged from the previous year. Net income increased to £239m compared with £227m in 2024. The company also reported a significant rise in net cash generated from operations, which climbed to £656m.
Average net cash reached £1.21bn over the year, slightly exceeding the company’s guidance range of £1.1bn to £1.2bn. The stronger cash position was helped by improvements in working capital management.
Balfour Beatty also confirmed plans to return additional capital to shareholders, announcing a £200m share buyback programme for 2026. The figure was higher than the £125m analysts had anticipated.
Looking ahead, the company expects profit from its earnings-based businesses to grow by a “high single-digit percentage” in 2026. Construction margins in both the UK and US are projected to improve, while the Support Services segment aims to maintain margins above 8% alongside continued growth.
“A ~7% beat on net profit and buyback raised to £200m should be well received,” analysts at Jefferies led by Graham Hunt wrote in a note. “Support Services was again a highlight, with margins beating expectations and now raised to >8%, supporting guidance for further earnings-based business growth in 2026 (HSD) and in 2027.”
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