21st Mar 2005 07:00
Kier Group PLC21 March 2005 21 March 2005 KIER GROUP PLC INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2004 • Pre-tax profits, including exceptional profits of £5.9m, up 87.4% to £32.8m* (2003: £17.5m) • EPS, excluding exceptional profits, up 49.7% to 53.0p* (2003: 35.4p) • Dividend per share up 16.7% to 7.0p (2003: 6.0p) • Construction & Services order books at £1.82bn with improving quality • Unit completions and current forward order book together secure our full year expected sales in Homes • Mixed-use and regeneration schemes are providing good opportunities for the Group * Results above are shown after adding back £1.3m (2003: £1.3m) relating to goodwill amortisation. After deducting goodwill amortisation results are: • Pre-tax profits, including exceptional profits of £5.9m, up 94.4% to £31.5m (2003: £16.2m) • EPS up 67.8% to 54.7p (2003: 32.6p) Commenting on the results, John Dodds, Chief Executive, said: "I am pleased to report that Kier Group has delivered excellent results for thesix months to 31 December 2004. Our Homes division, in particular, had a strongresult taking advantage of an exceptional forward order book at 1 July 2004.This has contributed to a shift in the balance of profit generation between thefirst and the second halves of this financial year. "Looking forward I have more confidence in Kier's prospects than ever before.There is great potential for further growth in this business and I am excited atthe opportunities that are available to us within each division and across theGroup as a whole." Chief Executive's review Overview I am pleased to report that Kier Group has delivered excellent results for thesix months to 31 December 2004. Earnings before interest, tax, goodwillamortisation and exceptional profits improved 53.0% to £28.0m (2003: £18.3m)and, after exceptional profits of £5.9m (2003: £nil), pre-tax profits increased94.4% to £31.5m (2003: £16.2m). All divisions contributed to this achievement;our Homes division, in particular, had a strong result taking advantage of anexceptional forward order book at 1 July 2004. This has contributed to a shiftin the balance of profit generation between the first and the second halves ofthis financial year. The markets in Construction have remained sound throughout the period with bothpublic sector expenditure and private sector demand contributing to our orderbooks. In Support Services we have secured a new building maintenance contractat Leeds, which will provide turnover of £10m per annum for five years, and ourlist of potential bids in the local authority outsourcing arena hasstrengthened. Whilst we experienced a cooling in the housing market in the fourth quarter ofcalendar 2004, visitor levels and reservations in the post Christmas periodprovide confidence that modest year on year growth in unit sales will beachieved. In Property, growth continues and more schemes have been identified forpotential investment including those for mixed-use development in joint venturewith our Homes business. We have continued our record of success in PFI havingrecently achieved preferred bidder status on two projects bringing us to oursixth consecutive successful bid in two years. Following on from therefinancing of our investment in Hairmyres Hospital in August 2004, we sold our25.5% share in the investment in the Neath Port Talbot Hospital concession inDecember 2004. Our focus on providing an integrated service to clients through combining theskills across the Group has been maintained. We were pleased to have exchangedcontracts with Network Rail in December on a six acre site in Poole Harbour.Led by Kier Residential and involving the skills of our Regional Contracting,Rail and Property businesses this site will provide 250 residential units withina mixed use scheme. Further regeneration schemes are being actively pursued andwe believe that the Group is uniquely placed to deliver them using our widerange of in-house skills. Results Turnover at £816.1m (2003: £726.6m) was 12.3% ahead of last year; operatingprofit after goodwill amortisation was 57.1% ahead at £26.7m (2003: £17.0m); andpre-tax profit, before exceptional profits, at £25.6m (2003: £16.2m) was 58.0%ahead. The exceptional profits of £5.9m (2003: £nil) comprise £2.1m arising on the saleof our investment in the Neath Port Talbot Hospital concession and £3.8m on thesale of a property fixed asset. Tax of 30% has been charged on the combinedprofit. In addition, whilst no profit has been recognised, an exceptional taxcharge of £2.5m has arisen following refinancing and subsequent cash extractionfrom the PFI investment vehicle for Hairmyres Hospital. Basic earnings per share after all exceptional items increased by 67.8% to 54.7p(2003: 32.6p). Adjusted earnings per share before goodwill amortisation andexceptional profits and tax increased by 49.7% to 53.0p (2003: 35.4p). The trading result achieved in the six months to 31 December 2004 was supportedby outstanding cash generation. Overall there was a £62.6m inflow in the periodresulting in a cash balance of £70.2m, net of debt, at 31 December 2004 with£62.3m generated from operating activities. The Construction division generated£35m in the period and on average maintained cash balances £27m ahead of lastyear. £17.8m was raised from the sale of the assets contributing to theexceptional items and refinancing an investment. The Board has declared an interim dividend of 7.0p (2003: 6.0p), an increase of16.7% continuing the growth record of 15% or more achieved since 1997. This is7.2 times covered by earnings per share before exceptional items. The dividendwill be paid to shareholders on 19 May 2005 with the usual scrip alternative. Construction The Construction segment comprises Regional Contracting, which includes bothAffordable Housing and Major Building Projects, and our Infrastructure &Overseas operations. Operating profit in Construction grew sharply by 62.5% to £6.5m (2003: £4.0m) onturnover up 4.9% to £530.1m (2003: £505.5m). The operating margin improved from0.9% last year to 1.3% before goodwill amortisation as a result of ourpersistent focus on low-risk, negotiated and partnered work. The order book at31 December 2004 was maintained at £600m with a further £285m awardedsubsequently contributing to a total forward order book of £723m at 28 February2005. A good trading result was achieved by Regional Contracting, supported by astrong cash performance, culminating in record cash balances of £189.1m at 31December 2004 (2003: £148.7m). Contract awards totalled £391m in the periodbringing the Regional order book to £483m at 31 December 2004. As expectedpublic sector awards increased to 37% from 34% in the same period last year witheducation awards providing 25% of the total and health 11%. Further awards arepending finalisation through the ProCure21 initiative for NHS Estates. Privatesector awards in the period continued to be driven by retail as well as hoteland leisure opportunities. The order book is supported by a strong pipeline ofprobable awards leading us to expect further growth in turnover in the secondhalf of the year. In the UK, Infrastructure & Overseas made good progress on its rail contractsfor CTRL and has recently been awarded a structures maintenance frameworkcontract for Network Rail in East Anglia which will provide £100m of turnoverover five years. We were also pleased to have been selected as preferred bidderfor a further framework agreement, in joint venture, for United Utilities underits Asset Management Programme 4 which will provide us with turnover of £130mover five years extendable for a further five. Our private opencast coal mine inScotland is making good progress. 500,000 tonnes of coal have been transportedfrom the site and we have forward sold over 60% of total expected coal sales atfavourable prices. Overseas we have completed the contract in Hong Kong for the Kowloon CantonRailway Corporation and are exploring further opportunities with the sameclient. Our long-term relationship with Alcoa continues to bear fruit withsignificant opportunities emerging on low-risk terms. Support Services Overall turnover increased by 11.5% to £108.3m (2003: £97.1m) with operatingprofit edging forward to £1.2m (2003: £1.1m) and to £2.2m before goodwillamortisation giving a margin of 2.0%. Good results were achieved by the Building Maintenance division which includescontracts for Sheffield City Council, Islington Borough Council and now LeedsCity Council. Following the maximum award of three stars by central Government,Sheffield City Council recently received confirmation of part of its £1bnfunding allocation under the Decent Homes initiative to be spent over the nextfive years, of which we anticipate our share to be around £175m. The excellentservice we provide at Sheffield was acknowledged recently when Kier SheffieldLLP was named Public Private Partnership of the Year in the National Awards forLocal Government at which Sheffield City Council was also awarded Council of theYear. At Islington we have secured a further £40m under Decent Homes over fiveyears. Further opportunities for new contracts are emerging in this sectorgiving us a high level of confidence in future growth. In Managed Services we are continuing our focus to improve margins by selectivebidding. Our portfolio of contracts on which we provide services under the PFIis continuing to expand with a further £79m either awarded or on which we wereselected as preferred bidder in the six months to 31 December 2004. With good opportunities emerging we expect to achieve further growth thisfinancial year. Homes An exceptionally strong forward order book at 1 July 2004 and continued demandfor our homes during the early part of the financial year provided KierResidential with a 28.3% increase in housing completions to 721 (2003: 562).This has resulted in a shift in sales towards the first half of the year.Turnover rose 29.5% to £134.5m (2003: £103.9m) including a land sale of £4.4m(2003: £nil); excluding the land sale it rose 25.2%. Average selling pricesreduced to £180,500 (2003: £184,800) reflecting a planned reduction in unit sizeoffset by an increase in income per square foot and an increase in the number ofaffordable housing units from 3% to 10% of total unit sales. Operating profit increased by 48.8% to £19.2m, excluding land sales, (2003:£12.9m) lifting the margin to 14.7%, well ahead of last year's 12.4%. Themargin for private housing improved even further but was partially diluted bythe increase in lower margin affordable housing units completed in the period. At 31 December 2004 the land bank contained 5,256 plots with planning consent(2003: 3,358) representing over four years' trading. Although the number ofplots increased from those at 30 June 2004 the cash investment in land reducedmarginally representing a reduction in average cost per plot which reflects ourcautious approach to land buying. In addition to the consented land bank wecontrol 14,400 units of strategic land which are being progressed through theplanning system. We have increased our focus on brownfield and regenerationsites, which can be delivered within a shorter timescale than greenfield sites,drawing upon the skills and resources from elsewhere within the Group. Anexample of this is a brownfield site in Peterborough which we acquired inDecember 2002 and on which we secured outline planning consent for 550 units inJanuary 2005. Since early January 2005 there has been a higher level of visitors to our sitesthan in the autumn of 2004, and an increase in demand for our homes. Unitcompletions and current forward order book together secure our full yearexpected sales which are anticipated to show a modest increase over last yearreflecting our focus on profitability over volume. Property The Property segment recorded operating profit of £4.6m for the period, 12.2%ahead of last year's £4.1m. A number of developments were sold by KierDevelopments (our joint venture company) which, when coupled with an element ofrental income, provided operating profits of £2.2m out of the £4.6m. Within our wholly owned business we secured the advance sale of a 90,000sq ftoffice development in Swindon, to be occupied by the National Trust. The cashproceeds were received in full in July 2004, in advance of construction by KierRegional, with completion expected in April 2005. Progress is also being madeto secure an opportunity for 200,000sq ft of offices pre-let to a majormulti-national company in Milton Keynes. Kier Regional will carry out theconstruction when contracts are finalised. The business continues to benefit from opportunities in office, industrial andretail development including mixed-use and regeneration projects and, given thereturn on capital of around 50% achieved over the last three and a half years,we are keen to seek out further non-speculative development opportunities. Infrastructure Investment Our PFI business continued its track record of success both in new projects andin achieving returns from the existing portfolio. We are delighted to haverecently been announced as preferred bidder on a £26m treatment centre atIpswich, our fifth PFI health project. Kier Regional will carry out theconstruction work for this project and Caxton will carry out the supportservices contract for the 30-year concession. We have also, recently beenannounced preferred bidder on our first police headquarters in North Kent. KierRegional will carry out the construction on the building, which has a capitalvalue of £25m. In August 2004 we refinanced our first PFI project, Hairmyres Hospital. Aftercontributing 30% of the gain to the Lanarkshire Health Board, the refinancingprovided us with £8.1m of cash. No profit can be recognised on the gain unlesswe dispose of the investment but tax is payable. Consequently an exceptionaltax charge of £2.5m has been recognised in the accounts for the six months to 31December 2004. In December 2004 we disposed of our 25.5% investment in the Neath Port TalbotHospital concession to Secondary Market Infrastructure Fund UK LP. We receiveda cash consideration of £5.0m on the sale and generated an exceptional profit of£2.1m. Following the disposal, our portfolio of investments comprises eleven projectswith a committed investment of £18.3m on which we expect to achieve a long-termaverage yield of around 15%. A secondary market for investments is developingand we believe that values will continue to improve. Pensions The Group continues to take a responsible approach to the future fundingrequirements of the Kier Group Pension Scheme and has taken various actions overrecent years to control the deficit under FRS 17, which at 30 June 2004 stood at£67.2m net of deferred tax. In March 2005, using the cash proceeds fromrefinancing the Hairmyres PFI investment and the sale of the investment in theNeath Port Talbot Hospital PFI concession, the Group made a £12.0m special cashcontribution to the pension fund. For SSAP 24 purposes the contribution will betreated as a prepayment in the annual accounts and consequently will have noimpact on operating profits for the year to 30 June 2005. Health & Safety The continuing campaign involving our supply chain in all aspects of health andsafety awareness has made a further reduction in the accident incident rate ('AIR') during 2004. The AIR in December 2004 was 609 per 100,000 staff andcontractors; this AIR was measured against the 2004 Health & Safety ExecutiveConstruction benchmark of 1,172. The new benchmark set for 2005 is 1,023 per100,000. Kier Group's 'Don't Walk By' campaign 'Taking Steps to Safer Sites' has focusedour staff and contractors on striving to reduce the AIR even further. Prospects Kier continues on its path with sound financial strength; an increasing pool ofcommitted talented people; and good opportunities in all of our markets. Our order books in Construction and Services, supported by a healthy pipeline ofopportunities, contain an increasing number of good quality contracts which willprovide further growth. In Housing, reservation levels are showing signs ofmore sustainable market conditions. The next quarter's sales will be importantto providing further evidence to support this trend. In Property, opportunitiescontinue to emerge and in PFI our pipeline of projects will provide furthergrowth. Looking forward I have more confidence in Kier's prospects than ever before.There is great potential for further growth in this business and I am excited atthe opportunities that are available to us within each division and across theGroup as a whole. For further information, please contact: John Dodds, Chief ExecutiveKier Group plc Tel: 01767 640111 Deena Mattar, Finance DirectorKier Group plc Tel: 01767 640111 Caroline SturdyMadano Partnership Tel: 020 7378 7033 Kier Group plcConsolidated Profit and Loss account Unaudited Unaudited 6 months to 6 months to Year to 31 December 31 December 30 June 2004 2003 2004 Notes £m £m £m Total turnover - Continuing operations 1 816.1 726.6 1,476.5 ------------ ------------ ----------- Group operating profit - Continuing operations 23.9 14.7 39.4 Share of operating profit - joint ventures 2.8 2.3 3.2 ------------ ------------ -----------Operating profit: Group and share of jointventures 1 26.7 17.0 42.6 Exceptional profits 2 5.9 - - ------------ ------------ ----------- Profit on ordinary activities before interest andtaxation 32.6 17.0 42.6 Net interest receivable/(payable) - Group 0.5 0.2 (0.2) Net interest payable - joint ventures (1.6) (1.0) (1.8) ------------- ------------ -----------Profit on ordinary activities before taxation 1 31.5 16.2 40.6 Taxation on profit before exceptional items (7.9) (4.8) (12.0) Taxation on exceptional items 2 (4.3) - - 3 (12.2) (4.8) (12.0) ----------- ----------- -----------Profit for the period 19.3 11.4 28.6 Dividends 4 (2.5) (2.2) (6.8) ------------- ------------ ----------- Retained profit for the Group and its shareof joint ventures 16.8 9.2 21.8 ------------- ------------ ----------- Earnings per Ordinary Share - basic 5 54.7p 32.6p 81.5p - diluted 54.4p 32.4p 80.8p ------------- ------------ ----------- Adjusted Earnings per Ordinary Share (excludingexceptional items and goodwill amortisation) - basic 5 53.0p 35.4p 87.2p - diluted 52.7p 35.2p 86.4p ------------- ------------ -----------Dividend per Ordinary Share 4 7.0p 6.0p 19.0p ------------- ------------ ----------- Group operating profit - includes a charge of £1.3m for the amortisation ofgoodwill (June 2004: £2.6m, December 2003: £1.3m). Kier Group plc Consolidated Balance Sheet Unaudited Unaudited 31 December 31 December 30 June 2004 2003 2004 Notes £m £m £mFixed assets Intangible assets - goodwill 17.3 19.9 18.6 Tangible assets 69.8 60.1 68.9 Investments in joint ventures Share of gross assets 191.5 160.6 194.8 Share of gross liabilities (195.6) (156.7) (190.7) Loans provided to joint ventures 26.8 28.0 28.1 ----------- ------------ ----------- 22.7 31.9 32.2 ------------ ------------ ----------- 109.8 111.9 119.7 ------------ ------------ ----------- Current assets Stock 303.1 269.0 328.6 Debtors 198.8 216.2 231.2 Cash at bank and in hand 100.3 56.8 41.4 ------------ ------------ ----------- 602.2 542.0 601.2 ------------ ------------ ----------- Current liabilities Creditors - amounts falling due within one year (506.2) (476.5) (530.7) ------------ ------------ ---------- Net current assets 96.0 65.5 70.5 Total assets less current liabilities 205.8 177.4 190.2 Creditors - amounts falling due after morethan one year (53.7) (60.1) (58.5) Provisions for liabilities and charges (18.9) (13.7) (15.3) ------------ ------------ -----------Net assets 133.2 103.6 116.4 ------------ ------------ ----------- Capital and reserves Called up share capital 0.4 0.3 0.4 Share premium account 17.5 17.0 17.1 Capital redemption reserve 2.7 2.7 2.7 Share scheme reserve (0.5) (0.5) (0.4) Profit and loss account 113.1 84.1 96.6 ------------ ------------ -----------Equity shareholders' funds 6 133.2 103.6 116.4 ------------ ------------ ----------- The balance sheet at 31 December 2003 has been restated in accordance with UITF17 (Revised 2003) and UITF 38 which require investment in own shares and theprovision for share based payments to be shown as a deduction from shareholders'funds. Kier Group plc Consolidated Cash Flow Statement Unaudited Unaudited 6 months to 6 months to Year to 31 December 31 December 30 June 2004 2003 2004 £m £m £mOperating activities Operating profit 23.9 14.7 39.4 Amortisation of goodwill 1.3 1.3 2.6 Profit on sale of fixed assets (0.2) - (1.3) Depreciation charges 6.4 3.8 8.1 Decrease/(increase) in working capital 30.9 (37.5) (52.5) ------------ ------------ ------------ Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities 62.3 (17.7) (3.7) Dividends received from joint ventures 0.4 0.3 0.3 Returns on investments and servicing of finance 1.4 0.8 0.6 Tax paid (5.1) (5.3) (11.5) Net capital expenditure and financial investment (3.4) (10.9) (18.7) Disposals, investments and acquisitions 11.6 (0.4) (17.2) Equity dividends paid (4.3) (3.5) (5.5) ------------ ------------ ------------ Cash inflow/(outflow) before management of liquid resources and financing 62.9 (36.7) (55.7) Management of liquid resourcesNet decrease in short-term bank deposits 12.6 23.9 20.7 FinancingShare capital (0.3) 1.4 1.3 ------------ ------------ ------------Increase/(decrease) in cash during the period 75.2 (11.4) (33.7) ------------ ------------ ------------ Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds Increase/(decrease) in cash during the period 75.2 (11.4) (33.7) Cash outflow from management of liquid resources (12.6) (23.9) (20.7) ------------ ------------ ------------Movement in net funds in the period 62.6 (35.3) (54.4) ------------ ------------ ------------Opening cash, net of debt 7.6 62.0 62.0 ------------ ------------ ------------Closing cash, net of debt 70.2 26.7 7.6 ------------ ------------ ------------Analysis of closing cash, net of debtCash at bank and in hand 82.6 29.7 11.1 Bank overdrafts - - (3.7) Short-term bank deposits 17.7 27.1 30.3 Long-term borrowings (30.1) (30.1) (30.1) ------------ ------------ ------------ 70.2 26.7 7.6 ------------ ------------ ------------ Notes 1 Segmental information Unaudited Unaudited 31 December 31 December 30 June 2004 2003 2004 £m £m £m Turnover Construction 530.1 505.5 1,007.3 Support Services 108.3 97.1 197.7 Homes 134.5 103.9 215.7 Property 37.7 15.7 46.6 Infrastructure Investment 5.5 4.4 9.2 ------------ ------------ ----------- 816.1 726.6 1,476.5 ------------ ------------ -----------Operating profit Construction 6.5 4.0 10.9 Support Services 1.2 1.1 2.7 Homes 19.2 12.9 31.8 Property 4.6 4.1 6.6 Infrastructure Investment (0.4) (1.3) (1.9) Corporate overhead/finance (4.4) (3.8) (7.5) ------------ ------------ ----------- 26.7 17.0 42.6 ------------ ------------ -----------Profit before tax Construction 11.5 8.2 19.0 Support Services 0.9 0.9 2.2 Homes 15.0 9.6 24.5 Property 3.5 3.6 5.0 Infrastructure Investment 1.7 (1.2) (1.3) Corporate overhead/finance (1.1) (4.9) (8.8) ------------ ------------ ----------- 31.5 16.2 40.6 ------------ ------------ -----------Net operating assets Construction (161.4) (127.0) (132.6) Support Services 4.7 13.0 10.6 Homes 219.4 181.7 201.3 Property 14.3 4.1 24.8 Infrastructure Investment (6.4) 12.3 9.0 Corporate overhead/finance (7.6) (7.2) (4.3) ------------ ------------ ----------- 63.0 76.9 108.8 ------------ ------------ ----------- Net operating assets at 31 December 2003 have been restated in accordance withUITF 17 (Revised 2003) and UITF 38. Operating profit and profit before tax for Support Services and CorporateOverhead/Finance have been adjusted to reallocate costs of bidding for SupportServices contracts from Corporate Overhead/Finance to Support Services. Theadjustment is £0.8m in the six months to 31 December 2003 and £2.0m in the yearto 30 June 2004. Profit before tax for the six months to 31 December 2004 includes: anexceptional profit of £2.1m relating to the sale of an investment in a PFI jointventure in Infrastructure Investment; and an exceptional profit of £3.8mrelating to the sale of a fixed asset property in Corporate Overhead/Finance. Notes continued 2 Exceptional profits Exceptional profits for the six months to 31 December 2004 arise from the following: Profit Net profit/ before tax Tax (loss) £m £m £m Disposal of land and buildings 3.8 (1.2) 2.6 Disposal of investment in a PFI joint venture 2.1 (0.6) 1.5 Refinancing of a PFI joint venture - (2.5) (2.5) ---------- ---------- --------- 5.9 (4.3) 1.6 ---------- ---------- --------- 3 Taxation The taxation charge on exceptional items has been separately identified. The corporation tax rate of 31.0% (June 2004: 29.5%, December 2003: 29.5%)applied to profit before exceptional items is based on the estimated effectivepercentage tax rate for the full year. The tax charge is calculated inaccordance with FRS 19. 4 Dividends per Ordinary Share The interim dividend of 7.0p (December 2003: 6.0p) per ordinary share will bepaid on 19 May 2005 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on1 April 2005. A scrip dividend alternative will be offered. 5 Earnings per Ordinary Share Earnings per share is calculated as follows: Unaudited Unaudited 31 December 31 December 30 June 2004 2003 2004 £m £m £m Profit after tax 19.3 11.4 28.6 Less: Exceptional items (5.9) - - Add: Tax on exceptional items 4.3 - - ---------- ---------- ----------Profit after tax before exceptional items 17.7 11.4 28.6 Add: Goodwill amortisation 1.3 1.3 2.6 Less: Tax on goodwill amortisation (0.3) (0.3) (0.6) ---------- ---------- ----------Adjusted profit after tax 18.7 12.4 30.6 ---------- ---------- ---------- Million Million MillionWeighted average number of shares used for EPS Basic 35.3 35.0 35.1 ---------- ---------- ----------Diluted 35.5 35.2 35.4 ---------- ---------- ---------- 5 Earnings per Ordinary Shares (continued) Pence Pence PenceEarnings per share Basic 54.7 32.6 81.5 Diluted 54.4 32.4 80.8 ---------- ---------- ----------Adjusted earnings per share after excluding exceptional items Basic 50.1 32.6 81.5 Diluted 49.9 32.4 80.8 ---------- ---------- ---------- Adjusted earnings per share after excluding exceptionalitems and goodwill amortisation Basic 53.0 35.4 87.2 Diluted 52.7 35.2 86.4 ---------- ---------- ---------- The diluted earnings per share takes account of the dilutive effect of optionsand is calculated in accordance with FRS 14. 6 Reconciliation of movements in shareholders' funds £m Shareholders' funds at 30 June 2004 116.4 Retained profit for period 16.8 Issue of shares 0.4 Movement in share scheme reserve (0.1) Currency translation (0.3) ------------Shareholders' funds at 31 December 2004 133.2 ------------ 7 Status The interim results do not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning ofsection 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The abridged consolidated profit and loss account for the year to 30 June 2004and the abridged consolidated balance sheet at 30 June 2004 have been extractedfrom the latest published accounts of Kier Group plc on which the report of theauditors was unqualified and which have been delivered to the Registrar ofCompanies. Copies of this interim statement will be sent to shareholders and are availablefor inspection at the Company's registered office. It will also be available onthe Company's website at www.kier.co.uk. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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