* Annual underlying profit rises 166 pct to 165 mln pounds
*
* Company more selective in contract decisions(Adds CEO comments, share movement)
By Radhika Rukmangadhan
March 14 (Reuters) -
The demise of Carillion came after construction companiestook on major contracts at thin margins, leaving them nursinglosses in the event of delays or problems.
"Companies are starting to recover from what effectively wasvery low pricing in 2013 and 2014," Balfour Beatty ChiefExecutive Leo Quinn told Reuters.
"I wouldn't brand the industry like Carillion," he added.
Underlying pretax profit for the infrastructure and buildingcompany rose to 165 million pounds (
"The business increased bid margin thresholds ... coupledwith a lower risk profile, so that the group wins work atappropriate terms and conditions," the company said in astatement.
Its
Shares in Balfour Beatty were up 2.8 percent at
FEWER MARKETS
Balfour Beatty has overhauled operations, in a turnarounddubbed "Build to Last", after losses at its British constructiondivision led to multiple profit warnings.
As well as selecting contracts more carefully, BalfourBeatty has also narrowed its focus to
It has pulled out of the
Its order book fell 8 percent to 11.4 billion pounds in 2017and it said it saw a strong commitment from the Britishgovernment towards the new high speed railway (HS2) project andHighways England road programmes.
The company said it was on track to achieve"industry-standard margins" in the second half of 2018, andadded it will continue to sell assets in its infrastructureinvestments business.
One of Carillion's joint venture partners on the AberdeenWestern Peripheral Route (AWPR) road project in northern