Turnover also suffered – falling nearly 10% to £76.2m as several contracts suffered delays. But chairman Mike Speakman said the company was still confident of prospects for the full year, with several big projects due to start in the second half. Tolent is part of the Kajima team which is behind the £40m PFI project to rebuild Newcastle and High Heaton libraries. Mr Speakman described Tolent’s first-half performance as satisfactory, although it was slower than the same time last year. He said: “Due to a number of large contracts suffering delays in commencement in the first half of 2007, group turnover, excluding our share of joint venture turnover, of £76.2m was down on the comparable six months last year of £84.2m … “The outlook for the rest of the year remains encouraging and the board looks forward to reporting a satisfactory outcome for the year as a whole.” Tolent shares closed down more than 4.5% at 285.2p after the results statement was issued shortly before 4pm. | 
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