Profits jump 17% at Edinburgh tram firm Bilfinger

GERMAN construction group Bilfinger, part of the consortium behind Edinburgh’s £776 million tram project, has posted a 17 per cent jump in annual profits and predicted further growth for the year ahead.

The firm said pre-tax profits before one-off items rose to €466m (£397m) for 2012, up from €397m the previous year and slightly ahead of analysts’ expectations, despite being faced with an “economically difficult environment”.

Profits were boosted by a €45m gain from the sale of investments in Nigeria and Bilfinger, which began life in 1883 building bridges in Mannheim, said underlying profits for the coming year should be higher than the €421m booked for 2012.

Chief executive Roland Koch said last month that the group has amassed an €850m warchest for acquisitions to boosts its overseas presence.

Officials behind Edinburgh’s controversial tram scheme, running from the airport to the city centre, are confident that services will start running next summer, three years behind the original deadline.