Driver Group trading in line

Shares in construction industry consultancy Driver rose over 5% after it said trading in the first half has been in line with company expectations."Our European and Africa regions are performing well whereas the live construction market in the Middle East is particularly challenging in Abu Dhabi and Dubai," the group said in a statement.Driver said January 2011 appeared to mark a turning point as the group return to profitability in the month with revenues and gross margin estimates for the second quarter up on those of Q1. "We have also continued to work to reduce the overheads across the group and have made significant savings at group level and regional overhead savings in the UK and the Middle East which will benefit the second half of the year," it explained.In the UK its industrial and power sector is out-performing management expectations despite the tough UK construction market whilst Africa is in line with expectations.Driver said it has secured its trading licence in Qatar in October 2010 and are now starting to see a developing pipeline of opportunities. The high level of enquiries for its services in the Middle East continues, it said.