17th Sep 2015 06:38
LONDON (Alliance News) - Construction, property and services company Kier Group PLC on Thursday said its pretax profit more than doubled for the year to the end of June as it booked fewer one-off costs, while revenue was pushed higher by organic growth and its order book surged after the acquisition of Mouchel.
The FTSE 250-listed company, which primarily focuses on the civil building and engineering sectors, said its pretax profit for the year to the end of June was GBP39.5 million, up from GBP15.4 million a year earlier, as one-off charges booked fell to GBP31.6 million from GBP42.2 million and it posted higher revenue. The one-off charges primarily related to the acquisition of Mouchel, a UK infrastructure construction company.
Revenue for the Kier group was up to GBP3.4 billion from GBP2.9 billion a year earlier, with robust organic growth achieved in all of its divisions. Returns from its property business improved substantially, while its residential construction arm delivered 35% more units. Construction revenue grew 15% and services revenue was up 13% in the year.
The GB265.0 million acquisition of Mouchel increased the size of Kier's order book substantially at the close of the financial year, up to GBP9.3 billion from GBP6.2 million.
Kier said it will pay a 55.2 pence per share full-year dividend, including a 36.0p final dividend, down from the 57.6 pence per share paid out a year earlier but only due to the company having issued shares over the year to pay for the Mouchel deal. In terms of the total payout, Kier will pay GBP47.3 million to its shareholders in dividends for the year, up from GBP39.4 million the year before.
"I am pleased to announce we have delivered solid growth and increased profitability. Economic confidence is returning to our core markets and, furthermore, the acquisition of Mouchel represents a major step in accelerating the group's five-year strategy," said Chief Executive Haydn Mursell.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Kier