Ballast plc plunges further into the red

Ballast plc, the UK construction business owned by the struggling Dutch group Ballast Nedam, plunged further into the red last year to the tune of £46m. It made a loss of £22m in 2001.

Unable to see light at the end of the tunnel, Ballast plc's parent has put its £390m-a-year turnover UK business on the market to sell and, as a dowry, has topped up its cash reserves. A spokeswoman for Ballast Nedam coyly refused to say how much has been spent.

In figures published today, Ballast Nedam said that in 2002 the group lost £97m on a turnover of £1.6bn. The performance of its international division was even worse than the UK construction business, recording a loss of £70m.

Ballast plc has trimmed turnover in its southern regions. As a result the forward orderbook is down from £370m last year to £260m.