Thanks to more careful project selection, civil engineering contractor BAM Nuttall returned to profit in 2015.

Above: Chief executive Stephen Fox

In 2015 BAM Nuttall made a pre-tax proft of £18.2m on turnover up 2% to £787m (2014: £770m).

The previous year the company had made a pre-tax loss of £18.3m.

The 2015 result represents a profit margin of 2.3%, which chief executive Stephen Fox said was “further vindication of our policy of managing risk and only selecting projects with appropriate contract terms”.

He said: “We will continue to pursue this strategy of selectivity with projects that we can add value to through two stage early contractor involvement.”

Mr Fox added: “We will not target unsuitable projects in pursuit of growth.”

BAM Nuttall, part of the Dutch company Royal BAM Group, generates 99% of its revenues in the UK.