Howson believes it will 鈥榓llowed the government to take forward more schemes鈥

Carillion鈥檚 chief executive elect Richard Howson said he is 鈥渙ptimistic鈥 about the future of the PFI market, despite continuing political pressure on the government to abandon the controversial procurement method.

Chief operating officer Howson, who will take over as chief executive from John McDonagh in the new year, said the firm was 鈥渆agerly expecting news at the end of November鈥 on a 鈥渟on of PFI鈥 scheme from the government.

鈥淲e鈥檙e optimistic it will be a mechanism that will allow the government to take forward more schemes, but quite how it will change we wait to see,鈥 he said.
Speaking after the publication of Carillion鈥檚 interim management statement, Howson also called on government to stick to its procurement timetable on major schemes in order to help the construction economy.

In the statement the firm said it had signed 拢670m of contracts since it announced half year results six weeks ago and was on course to meet analysts鈥 profit expectations, and would reduce its debt levels faster than anticipated. This was despite a continuing 鈥渃hallenging鈥 environment.

Howson added that margins on work in the Middle East would drop from 7-8% to nearer 6% over the next three years as clients moved toward competitive tendering.

It said its full year results will show 鈥渟trong earnings growth鈥, primarily from the acquisition of Carillion Energy Services, formerly known as Eaga. It is on course to downsize its UK construction business by a third by 2013.