Balfour Beatty posts strong performance

LONDON (Reuters) - Construction company Balfour Beatty (BALF.L) gave a bullish update on Wednesday, reporting a strong performance in the building sector in the UK and the U.S. and said it is confident in its outlook for 2009.

Britain's biggest infrastructure contractor said its order book is flat from its half-year results at 12.5 billion pounds. But Balfour's recent acquisition of U.S.-based Parsons Brinckerhoff lifts the overall total to 13.7 billion pounds, when including the U.S. firm's $1.95 billion order book.

Balfour agreed to buy U.S. project management firm Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million in September, funded by a rights issue.

The group, whose activities span engineering, construction and road and rail transport, said its balance sheet remains strong with average net cash in excess of 260 million pounds.

Shares in Balfour Beatty were up 1.4 percent at 267.85 pence at 8:08 a.m.

(Reporting by Lorraine Turner; Editing by Sharon Lindores)