Britain: Builder's Profit Rises Sharply

Balfour Beatty, Britain's biggest builder, said full-year profit surged 66 percent as an acquisition in the United States increased military housing orders and as construction demand rose in Britain and Europe. Net income rose to £151 million ($300 million) from £91 million a year earlier. Revenue climbed 44 percent to £6.47 billion ($12.7 billion). Balfour said it had won contracts from the United States military and hotel industry valued at more than $1.2 billion.