4th Jul 2005 07:00
Kier Group PLC04 July 2005 4 July 2005 KIER GROUP PLC TRADING UPDATE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2005 Kier Group plc, the contracting, services, housebuilding and property group ispleased to provide the following update to current trading in advance of a sitevisit with analysts and institutions today. Kier Group plc expects to report full year profits well ahead of last year andat the higher end of market expectations. In Construction both public and private sector investment has provided us withplenty of good quality opportunities resulting in a record level of awards forthe year. Cash generation has exceeded our expectations reflecting the qualityof contracts in progress and our focus on cash. Support Services continues to make good progress, particularly in the BuildingMaintenance division where more opportunities are becoming available. In Housing we started the financial year with a very strong order book whichprovided us with a high level of sales in the first half of the year. Weanticipated a reduced level of sales in the second half of the year and haveoverall achieved 1,215 completions for the year providing a 5% increase overlast year. The predicted recovery in the housing market post-election has notmaterialised, with reservation levels varying from week to week but at a levellower than at this time last year. Nevertheless we enter the new financial yearwith an order book representing more than our first quarter's projected sales.We will continue to favour improving margins over increased volume. Our Property business continues to benefit from opportunities across our sectorsincluding those for mixed-use and regeneration projects in joint venture withour housing and construction businesses. Within our wholly owned propertybusiness we completed the development of the headquarters building for theNational Trust in Swindon and the office development in Whitehall, both of whichhave contributed strongly to profits this year. Our PFI business continues to grow with financial close reached on a schoolsproject in Sheffield in April which will provide Kier Regional with a £50mconstruction contract and Caxton with a 25 year support services contract. Kier remains well positioned in all its markets and prospects are good for thefuture. Kier Group expects to announce its preliminary results for the year to 30 June2005 on 15 September 2005. - ENDS - 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 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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