Carillion's order book 'remains strong'

Carillion has reported that its public order book "remains strong" thanks to a focus on public sector works.

In an interim management statement for the third quarter the contractor also said that the benefits of acquiring Alfred McAlpine in February 2008 remained "ahead of expectations".

It said it was also confident of delivering integration costs savings of £40m a year by the end of 2009.

Meanwhile Carillion has also fared well in the Middle East where it said it had increased its share of revenue from its businesses from £337m in 2007 to around £600m at a margin of 6% by the end of 2009.

It also expected net borrowing to be below its original target of £300m at the year end.

And it predicted "strong progress" in 2008, as well as delivering "materially enhanced earnings" in 2009.