Annual results for the year ended 31 December 2014

Earnings in line with expectations

·   Financial performance reflects selective approach to choosing contracts in challenging markets   

-   Revenue similar to that in 2013, notwithstanding foreign exchange headwinds

-   Underlying profit from operations⁽¹⁾ increased slightly after improved margin performances in support services and Middle East construction services, with overall Group margin maintained at 5.6%  

-   Underlying profit before taxation⁽¹⁾ and underlying earnings per share⁽¹⁾ marginally reduced, reflecting the planned reduction in the sale of equity investments in Public Private Partnership projects

-   Reported profit before taxation and basic earnings per share both increased substantially, due to lower non-recurring operating items 

·    Net borrowing reduced in line with expectations

-   Net borrowing reduced to £177.3 million (2013: £215.2 million), despite investing £38.5 million in business acquisitions 

-   Strong cash performance with underlying cash flow from operations⁽¹⁾ representing 119% of underlying profit from operations⁽¹⁾ (2013: 75%)

-   £1.3 billion of committed funding and a strong balance sheet to support strategy for growth over the medium term

·   Strong work-winning performance

-   £5.1 billion of new orders and probable orders in the year (2013: £4.9 billion)

-  High-quality order book plus probable orders totalling £18.6 billion (2013: £18.0 billion)

    -   Record revenue visibility⁽²⁾ of 85% for 2015 (2013: 81% for 2014)

    -   Framework contracts worth up to £2.0 billion, which are not included in the order book or probable orders

-   Pipeline of contract opportunities increased to £39.2 billion (2013: £37.5 billion)

·   Proposed full-year dividend increased by 1% to 17.75p (2013: 17.50p)

Carillion Chairman, Philip Green, commented

"In 2014, our markets remained challenging and we continued to be very selective in choosing the contracts for which we bid in order to maintain margin discipline, which continues to be a key element of our strategy.  Looking forward, we expect the steady improvement in our markets that began in 2014 to continue in 2015, subject to a sustained macro-economic recovery.  We have also continued to strengthen the Group's position in growth markets, notably in support services through a further bolt-on acquisition in Canada.  Therefore, with strong cash flow, a high-quality order book, record revenue visibility and a growing pipeline of contract opportunities, we continue to believe the Group is well-positioned to make progress over the medium term." 

There will be a presentation for analysts and investors today at 9.00am.  A telephone dial in facility +44 (0)1296 480 100 - Access Code: 284405# will be available for analysts and investors who are unable to attend the presentation.  The presentation can be viewed on Carillion's website at www.carillionplc.com/investors/investors_presentations.asp.  A replay facility is also available following the call on  +44 (0)207 136 9233 - Access Code: 61737143. 

For further information contact:

4 March 2015

Notes to Editors:

Carillion is a leading integrated support services company with a substantial portfolio of Public Private Partnership projects and extensive construction capabilities.  The Group had annual revenue in 2014 of some £4.1 billion, employs around 42,000 people and operates across the UK, in the Middle East and Canada. 

The Group has four business segments:

Support services - this includes facilities management, facilities services, energy services, utility services, road maintenance, rail services and consultancy businesses in the UK, Canada and the Middle East.

Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects - this includes investing activities in PPP projects for Government buildings and infrastructure, mainly in the Defence, Health, Education, Transport and Secure accommodation sectors.

Middle East construction services - this includes building and civil engineering activities in the Middle East.

Construction services(excluding the Middle East) - this includes building, civil engineering and developments activities in the UK and construction activities in Canada.

This and other Carillion news releases can be found at www.carillionplc.com

Cautionary statement

This announcement may contain indications of likely future developments and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risk factors associated with, among other things, the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries, sectors and business segments in which the Group operates. These and other factors could adversely affect the Group's results, strategy and prospects. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. They relate to events and/or depend on circumstances in the future which could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those currently anticipated. No obligation is assumed to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view the associated PDF of the Preliminary Results Announcement:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4606G_-2015-3-3.pdf