A three-year resilience plan has led to revenue of nearly £4bn for Kier, the group has revealed.
The infrastructure and construction group’s full-year results to June 2024 included statutory revenue of £3.9bn and a statutory pre-tax profit of £68.1m.
This compares with £3.38bn revenue and £51.9 pre-tax profit for the firm’s 2023 financial results. Profit margin this year was 1.7 per cent compared with 1.5 per cent in 2023.
Statutory revenue for the firm, which ranked third in the CN100 last year, includes joint ventures with other firms.
Kier said the results were due to a three-year operational and financial plan that has now been completed and has “deleveraged the business markedly”.
Net cash stood at £167.2m and the order book increased by 7 per cent to £10.8bn.
Chief executive Andrew Davies said in this morning’s stock exchange announcement: “I am confident we can sustain this momentum going forward.”
This year’s costs incurred for fire and cladding rectification was £15m against £12.6m for 2023. It includes a credit of £11.8m in respect of insurance proceeds.
The results also revealed that in February, Kier successfully completed a £250m refinancing deal and extended its £261m revolving credit facility.
It will be paying out £15.1m in dividends in November.
Davies said: “The past three years have seen the group achieve significant operational and financial progress. The strong results for FY24 are testament to the hard work and commitment of our people, who have enhanced our resilience and strengthened our financial position in-line with our medium-term value creation plan.
“Our order book remains strong and growing at £10.8bn and provides us with good multi-year revenue visibility. The contracts within our order book reflect the bidding discipline and risk management now embedded in the business.”
The report also said that the integration of Buckingham Group’s rail assets into the business had been completed and performance was “ahead of plan”.
Public sector work was a significant part of the firm’s activity.
Last month Kier was among six major contractors named as part of an alliance to create 16,000 bed spaces for the Armed Forces over six years.
Water infrastructure is another revenue generator. The group has been awarded a number of framework places as part of the AMP8 water investment cycle.
The statement said it was “well-positioned with all the major water companies”.
Davies forecast that Kier will gain from the new government’s infrastructure plans and added: “We are confident in sustaining the strong cash generation evidenced especially over the past two years.”
