There is no shortage of reasons for why Carillion might be finding life tough at the moment — but the company’s interim results yesterday provided no reason to jump ship.
As a business that thrives on public sector contracts, it has suffered from an election slowdown, and things are unlikely to pick up until the Whitehall spending review concludes in the autumn. The government is its biggest customer, representing 36 per cent of revenue in the first half. Carillion cleans hospitals, maintains roads and earns dependable income from long-term public-private partnerships. So it is hardly surprising that the order book was down a touch from six months ago.
There have also been concerns that its Middle East construction business will feel the chill from $45