Kier Group builds up profits in ‘good year’

Property and construction group Kier remains on track to achieve its 2020 targets after revealing solid full-year figures.

The group’s underlying performance, which includes joint ventures and strips out some one-off costs that are mostly to do with simplifying its portfolio, saw pre-tax profits rise 8% to £126m.

This was achieved on a 5% increase in revenues, which rose to £4.27bn in the year to June.

“Our underlying performance for the year was good,” said Haydn Mursell, Kier Group chief executive.

“Having simplified our portfolio, the Group is more focused and able to pursue its growth ambitions in our three core markets: building, infrastructure and housing, which now represent 90% of the Group’s revenue and profit.

Kier Group employs more than 800 people across the West Midlands. Its major projects in the region include building around 300 homes in a £40m mixed-tenure housing scheme in Kings Norton for Birmingham City Council’s Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust.

Kier also recently completed the national transport design centre for Coventry University, which opened earlier this year.

Mursell added: “We continue to invest in the business to improve our operational efficiency, providing a robust platform on which to take advantage of the strong long-term fundamentals in these core markets.”

Kier Group has seen its share price fall steadily since March, losing 27% to close last night at 1,095p. It has a market value of just above £1bn.