With record backlog, Balfour Beatty targets more U.S. data center jobs

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Information facilities are all the fad within the U.S., and London-based Balfour Beatty desires in on extra of the motion, the contractor stated throughout its full-year earnings call on Wednesday.

“I feel it is a actually important alternative for Balfour Beatty shifting into the longer term,” stated Philip Hoare, talking on his first earnings call as chief executive.

Hoare pointed to the corporate’s 20-plus yr historical past of delivering the shells and cores of those initiatives as proof of its expertise in the segment. The agency’s expertise in mission financing, operations and upkeep of knowledge facilities will assist it nab future alternatives and develop within the U.S. market, Hoare stated.

“The chance to broaden from the robust footprint that we’ve got in Washington State and in Oregon, we have just lately gained a brand new mission in Virginia, and there are alternatives rising throughout Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, all areas the place we’ve got actual energy as a enterprise,” Hoare stated. “That is an instance of the place we are able to take these buyer relationships, these deep relationships that we have constructed over a few years and transfer that across the U.S., to drive development.”

Certainly, data center construction has dominated the U.S. market. Development spending increased by 0.1% in January to a seasonally adjusted charge of $1.25 trillion, based on Related Builders and Contractors. Information heart building drove greater than 75% of the general month-to-month achieve.

Revenue, income up

Balfour Beatty delivered on its full-year expectations and achieved a report backlog on the again of robust building segments each within the U.Okay. and the U.S., the contractor introduced on Wednesday.

The agency generated roughly 10.8 billion kilos ($14.5 billion) in income for 2025, a rise of seven.5% yr over yr from 2024’s 10 billion kilos. It additionally noticed revenue positive aspects — the builder posted 323 million kilos in pre-tax revenue on the yr, an roughly 51% improve from 2024’s pre-tax revenue of 214 million kilos.

Balfour Beatty stated its revenue and income elevated year-over-year on account of robust performances within the U.Okay. energy transmission initiatives and its U.S. Buildings portfolio.

A few of the agency’s U.S. Buildings initiatives embrace the Broward County Conference Heart & Lodge enlargement in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and horizontal Section 2 work at The Wharf in Washington, D.C.

Nonetheless, outdated issues plagued the agency in different areas of the enterprise. Sturdy development and operational supply within the U.S. Buildings phase was weighed down on account of schedule delays and value overruns on a Texas freeway mission, stated CFO Phil Harrison.

Harrison — who’s stepping down from the role later this yr — expects extra income development for the agency’s Buildings phase in 2026 and for the Texas mission to succeed in completion later this yr.

The agency’s Infrastructure Funding’s division additionally suffered on account of legal costs from its military housing points. Balfour Beatty Communities, a Malvern, Pennsylvania-based subsidiary of the contractor and one of many largest suppliers of privatized navy housing, pleaded guilty in 2022 to defrauding the U.S. navy.

In consequence, the Division of Justice and the corporate agreed to determine an impartial compliance monitor, which is an individual appointed to make sure that a celebration adheres to the phrases of a settlement settlement or compliance program. Balfour Beatty and the DOJ had beforehand agreed to increase the monitorship to June 6, Harrison informed traders.

If the monitorship concludes by that date, the agency expects extra regular income in 2027, Harrison stated.

“Our monetary enterprise place is stable, and the strategic investments made in earlier years have set the stage for future development,” Harrison stated. “The momentum in earnings is anticipated to hold on past 2026, giving us confidence in continued progress over the medium time period.”

Document backlog

Alongside its revenue and income, Balfour Beatty additionally reported a report backlog, which it refers to as its “order guide,” of twenty-two.7 billion kilos for 2025. The entire is a 23.3% improve from 2024’s 18.4 billion kilos.

“It isn’t simply the dimensions and scale of that order guide, it is the good high quality work that we see inside it and the resilience that that brings to our enterprise,” Hoare boasted.

Balfour Beatty shouldn’t be alone with its pipeline of labor. Different building companies throughout the U.S. reported report backlogs for 2025, together with New York City-based Turner Construction; Watsonville, California-based Granite Construction; and Dallas-based AECOM. Information heart and infrastructure demand, each focuses of Balfour Beatty, have been all cited by the builders of their earnings calls and experiences.