Alfred McAlpine pulls out of health PFI bidding

Alfred McAlpine announced that it is to suspend bidding for Private Finance Initiative projects in the health sector until a critical mass of contracts have been signed.

Announcing the contractor's interim results for the first half of the year on Tuesday, Oliver Whitehead, chief executive, said: "We won't bother looking at many more until some get through."

McAlpine's latest interim results (six months to June) showed a consequence of its restructuring plan. Turnover of œ220 million (œ225 million) yielded a profit before tax of œ1.6 million (œ100,000).

The civil engineering division moved into profit, making œ1.3 million compared with a loss of œ300,000 in the first half of 1995. Civil's turnover was œ18 million lower at œ92 million.

Ian Grice, head of the civil engineering division, said: "It shows we're not chasing volume. You will notice that some of our competitors turnover is still up and as long as that attitude stays the industry's over capacity will remain as it is."

In the past six months McAlpine has picked up partnering jobs with three clients: British Gas, South West Water and Welsh Water.

Whitehead said the group now had a good quality order book worth œ200 million and that most of the loss making jobs were complete. The closure of McAlpine's building division, while painful, was "going well".