Support services trading well

Interserve, John Laing and Enterprise all delivered broadly upbeat trading statements to the Stock Exchange this morning.

Interserve chief executive Adrian Ringrose said the first six months of 2006 have been encouraging. He noted that Interserve had performed particularly strongly in the Middle East, although this was partly offset by a weaker performance from the industrial services arm. In total, Interserve £700m of new contracts during the half.

Ringrose also announced that Interserve has signed both the Ministry of Defence's Cyprus Prime Contract and a facilities management deal with the London Borough of Croydon.

Interserve's interim results will be announced on 4 September.

The highlight of John Laing's statement was the agreement on the scope of the North Staffordshire and Leicester PFI hospital schemes, both of which have been subjected to the Department of Health's affordability review. More details on the changes to the scope of the works will emerge later.

Laing chief executive Adrian Ewer revealed that the road and accommodation businesses continued to perform well. To capitalise on emerging markets, Laing will open offices in Canada and central Europe.

Laing's interims will be revealed on 24 August.

Finally, Enterprise boasted that its underlying pre-tax profit in the first half will be 20% ahead of the same period last year, while the order book stands at £2bn.

However, chairman and chief executive Owen McLaughlin revealed that the group will take a £9.5m hit this year due to restructuring and a "reappraisal of certain historical contract issues".

"I am convinvced that these changes will deliver tangible benefits to shareholders. I am extremely positive about the potential for significant organic growth," he said.

Enterprise's interims will be released on 11 September.