Balfour Beatty’s chief executive Ian Tyler is to step down after eight years at the helm of the British construction group.
Tyler’s departure comes after the firm issued a profit warning to shareholders in November, alongside a review of its European rail business.
Deputy chief executive Andrew McNaughton will take over from Tyler on March 31, having joined Balfour Beatty in 1997.
The outgoing chief executive said it had been a “great honour” to lead the company.
Chairman Steve Marshall said: “On behalf of the board, I want to say a huge thank you to Ian Tyler for his outstanding contribution to Balfour Beatty during his 16-year career with the group, including the last eight years as chief executive.
“During Ian’s tenure, the business has trebled in size, extended its global reach and its capabilities, particularly in developing professional services following the acquisition of Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2009. It is also testament to his leadership that Balfour Beatty has the depth of management talent that has ensured a smooth succession.”
In November, Balfour Beatty said struggling UK and U.S. construction markets were likely to impact on profitability. The company also announced a review of its European rail interests due to “critically low” activity levels in Italy and Spain.
A trading update released ahead of the 2012 figures said the company’s performance remained in line with expectations.
Balfour Beatty has improved projections for its year-end order book from £14.2 billion to around £15 billion. The increase has been put down to a number of recent contract awards, including a £270 million tunnelling contract in Hong Kong.
“In the medium and long term, we are confident that our position in infrastructure markets, our focus and competitive advantage in the transportation, rail, power, water and mining verticals, and our initiatives to access growing markets such as Australia, Canada, Brazil and India will stand us in good stead, as well as making the business more robust,” said Balfour in its financial update.
