Chairman Sir Neville Simms said the company would build on its 拢500m contract to manage BT鈥檚 estate for five years. He said the contractor鈥檚 order book consisted of 75% services work and 25% contracting.
He said: 鈥淵ou only have to look at Lloyds Bank, the BBC and BT to see that there are more and more corporate bodies wanting their estates run differently. We are positioning ourselves for that market. We think the market for this is huge.鈥�
Sir Neville denied that this focus on private sector PFI work implied that the group would switch over to a support services listing on the stock exchange.
He said: 鈥淲e just want the support services part of the group to be valued properly so that it is more visible. We still see the important role of construction activity as part of our service.鈥�
The contractor鈥檚 loss follows its decision to cut 900 jobs at Crown House Engineering, its ailing mechanical and electrical subsidiary.
Sir Neville said Carillion was getting over this debacle.
He said: 鈥淲e have flailed ourselves with birch twigs and feel better about it. If you look at the year-end results without Crown House, you will see a satisfactory step forward.鈥�
Carillion鈥檚 plans do not include becoming part of the industry鈥檚 consolidation drive, Sir Neville said, despite rumours circulating over the summer that it would be snapped up by the Swedish contractor Skanska.
He said: 鈥淐onsolidation is not an issue for Carillion. It has a clear path as to what it wants to do. Consolidation may well continue with smaller players.鈥�
PFI work almost trebled its contribution to Carillion鈥檚 total turnover. It rose to 拢126m for the six months to 30 June. The turnover for the whole group rose 6% to 拢926m.
Sir Neville said the new focus on PFI and services projects would lead to a drop in traditional construction work and civil engineering in the UK.
好色先生TV work fell 8% to 拢327m for the half year. Operating profit increased 22% to 拢6m, which Sir Neville said was the result of larger contracts for long-term customers.
