29th Oct 2007 07:01
Kier Group PLC29 October 2007 29 October 2007 KIER GROUP PLC INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT This is the first interim management statement from Kier Group plc as requiredby the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. This statementcovers the period from 1 July 2007 to date. We are pleased to report that the Group has made a good start to the newfinancial year with first quarter trading in-line with our expectations puttingus on track to achieve our full year target. Our Construction division has had a strong start to the new financial year witha record level of revenue achieved in the first quarter. The market remainsbuoyant and our order books remain at very healthy levels. We are pleased tohave been selected as preferred bidder on one of the first 'Academy' projects,at Milton Keynes, under the new Contractors' Framework for Academies and otherEducation Facilities, which is likely to provide further work in due course. In Support Services our Building Maintenance business continues its success withthe award of preferred bidder status for Stoke-on-Trent City Council to delivera £400m joint venture contract to carry out repairs and maintenance on theCity's 20,000 homes over a period of 10 years, extendable for a further five.Hammersmith and Fulham have awarded us a £25m contract to carry out repairs andmaintenance on 7,165 homes over five years. Further good opportunities remainin this market in which we are establishing ourselves as a leading provider ofthese services. The Homes division has made a satisfactory start to the year despite negativebuyer sentiment and uncertainties in the mortgage lending market. Although ourreservations to the end of September are marginally fewer than the same periodlast year, our order book at 19 October 2007 is 4% ahead of 2006 by value withover 50% of our full year targeted unit sales secured by way of completions,exchanged contracts and reservations. Our sites have experienced a notablereduction in the level of visitors since the news broke on Northern Rock,however our housing businesses are still achieving rates of reservations thatshould enable us to attain our targeted unit sales for the year. As we havepreviously indicated we expect the unit sales to be biased towards the secondhalf of the year with the half-year margin reflecting the phasing of anticipatedsales. Selling prices, in general, are holding up with little need to increaseincentives on most sites. In Property the occupier market remains sound despite investment uncertaintiesand in September we completed on the sale of a £40m regional headquartersdevelopment in Milton Keynes to be occupied by Electronic Data Systems. Morerecently we have exchanged on the sale of an entire industrial scheme of 22units in Hemel Hempstead. The division was delighted to receive the award for 'best small unit developer' at the Industrial Agents Society annual award forHemel Hempstead and other industrial schemes. We are continuing to exploreopportunities to acquire further stock in order to expand the business. Our markets in Construction and Support Services continue to be strong. TheHomes and Property markets are both subject to sentiment and the appetite oflenders both of which are erring on the side of caution. Overall the Group'sfinancial performance to date is in line with our expectations putting us firmlyon track to achieve further growth this year. - ENDS - For further information, please contact: John Dodds, Chief ExecutiveDeena Mattar, Finance DirectorKier Group plc Tel: 01767 640111 Caroline Sturdy/Matthew MothMadano Partneship Tel: 020 7593 4000 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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