Strong results for property business

KIER Group, the property, residential, construction and services business with offices across Yorkshire has announced strong full year results.

The business, which employs over 840 people across Yorkshire with offices in Sheffield, York, Barnsley and Boston Spa, is responsible for the delivery of many projects throughout the region, including an £80m waste treatment plant in South Kirkby, Wakefield; and over 80,000sq ft of Grade A workspace at 3 Sovereign Square in Leeds. It has also just completed the six-week, £14m refurbishment of the Selby swing bridge for Network Rail. Kier holds two contracts with Sheffield City Council, worth £118m in total, to provide both the repairs and maintenance service to Sheffield City Council tenants and around 2,200 leaseholders, and also its corporate statutory servicing and repairs service.

For the year ended June 30 2014, Kier delivered revenue of £3bn (2013: £2bn) up 51% on the previous year, following nearly a full year inclusion of the May Gurney acquisition. Underlying operating profit is also up, increasing by 59% to £88m. The proposed full year dividend is increased by 6% to 72p.
 
Chief executive, Haydn Mursell said: “I am pleased to report a good set of results showing significant progress on last year and demonstrating the robust operational performance of the business and the benefits of the May Gurney acquisition. 
 
“Despite inflationary price and labour challenges in the market, our margins remained robust.  Following the integration of May Gurney, which transformed the scale and diversity of the Group, the breadth of our capabilities has resulted in new, as well as larger contract awards. Our capabilities extend from negotiating finance and planning permissions, constructing major buildings and infrastructure as well as providing facilities management and environmental services. This spread of capabilities puts us in a unique position to pursue future growth.”