Services group 'back in the black'
Services group Amey will this week celebrate a return to profitability after its new Spanish owners rescued the business from close to collapse.
Amey UK, which was acquired by construction firm Ferrovial in 2003, is tipped to announce pre-tax profits for the year to December of £21.3m (€30.7m), compared with losses of £225m (€324.5m) a year earlier, the Financial Times said today.
The improvement comes after Amey was hit by high bidding costs, accounting problems and a mountain of debt. It subsequently ditched poorly performing activities and offloaded a number of PFI investments.
The company, which employs 7,500 staff in 150 locations in the UK and Ireland, now has a turnover of more than £1bn (€1.4bn) and a client list that includes the Ministry of Defence and British Gas group Centrica.
Amey recently took its stake in Tube Lines, Europe’s largest private finance initiative, to 66.7% after buying the one-third holding owned by Jarvis. The Tube Lines contract is for 30 years and involves the upgrade, renewal and maintenance of three London Underground lines.
Ferrovial is the largest construction group in Spain and recently announced net income for 2004 of €556.8m, an increase of 63.5% on a year earlier. The UK accouned for more than half of international sales, which Ferrovial said rose 36% to €2.69bn.
