Balfour Beatty suspends dividend after £59m losses in 2014
The figures
Balfour Beatty, the beleaguered construction firm, continues to suffer, posting total losses of £59m in 2014.
The firm won't pay out a final dividend.
Pre-tax losses came in at £304m in the year to the end of December compared to £185m the previous year, on revenue of £8.9bn. The firm also has negative operating cash flows of £372m.
Losses in its UK construction arm include a further write down of £118m.
Why it's interesting
After six profit warnings in two years (four of them coming in the last year) and fending off a takeover from Carillion, new chief Leo Quinn's turnaround job is a big one.
The sale of its American arm Parsons Brinckerhoff helped reduce those losses.
What Balfour Beatty said
The board decided not to recommend a final dividend, to ensure balance sheet strength is maintained, but expects to reinstate the dividend at an appropriate level, by March 2016.
In short
Losses were not unexpected after a terrible year for Balfour Beatty, but a largely flat opening share price this morning hints at investor trust in Quinn to turn things around.