Babcock & Brown Public Partnership makes £8m interim pre-tax profit

Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships (BBPP), which holds a sizeable package of equity stakes in PPP projects, has declared an interim pre-tax profit of £8m.

Financial results for the six months to 30 June show a turnover of £59m.

BBPP has seen its net asset value grow to £320m, representing a rise of 5%.

The business was floated independently last year when it gained a listing on the London Stock Exchange. It had previously been part of the Babcock & Brown group which was founded in 1977 and was first listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2004.

Keith Dorrian, chairman of BBPP, said: “The company’s competitiveness and pipeline of opportunities has not been affected by the recent turbulence in capital markets.

“The market for social infrastructure, while showing signs of maturing in the UK, remains robust internationally as the historic under-investment in a number of developed countries is addressed by PPP-style initiatives.”

At the end of June, BBPP had no gearing.

BBPP’s Portfolio Investment Performance details show that construction was completed at the Garland Road Health Centre as well as at the remaining sites on the Tower Hamlets Schools projects.

The portfolio remains balanced, said Dorrian, with 25% of assets in their construction phase and the remaining 75% already in operation.

During the period, the first investment was mad in a Canadian PPP project, a courthouse. It is a design and build project followed by a 30-year maintenance period.

Portfolio Interests

The Company held economic interests in the following projects at 30 June 2007

1) Operational – where BBPP holds a 100% equity stake

Abingdon Police Station

Bootle Government Offices

Derbyshire Magistrates Court

Derbyshire Schools Phase

Hereford & Worcester Magistrates Courts

Norfolk Police HQ

North Wales Police HQ

Strathclyde Police Training Centre

St Thomas More School

Derbyshire Schools Phase

Calderdale Schools

Tower Hamlets Schools

2) Under construction – where BBPP holds a 100% equity stake:

Northamptonshire Schools (completion due April 2008)

3) Other projects:

Long Bay Forensic and Prison Hospitals Project - 50% equity stake, construction completion date mid-2008

RiverCity Motorway Project - 5% equity stake, construction completion date mid-2010

Royal Melbourne Showgrounds Redevelopment Project - 50% equity stake, operational

Reliance Rail - 13% equity stake, under construction

4) Interests acquired during the period:

Durham Courthouse, Canada - 100% equity stake, construction completion date late-2009