Kier reports solid annual results
The diverse construction and development group said it remained confident in its outlook as it reported a long-term order book of £8.7bn in its annual results.
Kier operates in commercial and residential development, construction and services group and employs 1,000 people across the North West, with offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Oldham and Wigan.
In the 12 months to the end of 30 June, Kier produced turnover of £4.2bn, which was like-for-like up 8%. However, there was a pre-tax loss of £15m which was due to a £116m hit of “non-underlying costs” relating to the takeover of Mouchel, problems at two waste collection contracts and winding down of Caribbean operations.
Kier is working on a £475m project to turn the M6 junctions 16 to 19 into a smart motorway in a joint venture with Carillion. Kier is also one of the construction partners on the £450m Mersey Gateway project, the construction of a six-lane toll bridge over the River Mersey linking Runcorn and Widnes.
In Bolton, Kier is on site delivering the new £24.9m interchange for Transport for Greater Manchester.
In Liverpool, Kier is responsible for a number of key projects in the area including the Mayor’s Liverpool Schools programme.
Haydn Mursell, chief executive, said: “I am pleased to report a good set of results reflecting the evolution of the group during the year following the completion of the integration of Mouchel.
“This year, we have successfully focused on our commercial and capital disciplines and are pleased to report a significant improvement in our net debt, further strengthening our balance sheet and the delivery of a key Vision 2020 target: net debt: EBITDA of less than 1x, a year ahead of our expectations.
“The group continues to perform well in growing market sectors including infrastructure, housing and regional building, providing a breadth of capabilities to our clients. For the first time, 50% of group profit now comes from our services division where essential day-to-day services are provided to clients and we have long-term visibility of our future pipeline of work.”
Shares in Kier were up 36p to 1316p.