Construction Services CEO Nick Pollard revealed the targets during a presentation to the City following the firm’s latest results this week.

Pollard said improvements are being realised as the regional businesses moved away from bidding for smaller jobs worth less than £5m.

A sixth of local units are currently unprofitable at Balfour and the latest round of rationalisation will see three offices close.

Pollard said: “By the end of year our target is that we will be operating with 17 local business units rather than 20 and that all of them will be trading profitably.”

Pollard said £40m of cost cutting measures have already been carried-out across Construction Services but added: “Although overhead has fallen in line with revenue reduction we should be more efficient.”

He said: “From my personal perspective we need to keep the foot on the gas with all the measures implemented, really make them bite, deliver profits and at the same time identify and accelerate our work on procurement by engaging more collaboratively with our suppliers to identify and eradicate wasted effort – all to the mutual benefit of the bottom line.

“We must do more to simplify our business processes, enhance governance and at the same time reduce our business risks.

“Underpinning all of this is the fundamental fact that the construction industry is still highly dependent upon individual intellect, skills, knowhow and perhaps most of all ethics, behaviour and belief.”