Yorkshire schemes help Kier to build its revenues
A NUMBER of Yorkshire schemes have helped construction group Kier boost revenues 11% to £1.58bn.
The firm, which employs 1,235 people at its bases across the region including in York, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield and Boston Spa, where it is delivering some major projects.
In a joint venture with Lingfield Securities, it is responsible for the £25m redevelopment of Catterick Garrison town centre, which is on schedule to open to the community in the summer, and the company is working with Bruntwood on a £30m development at 3 Sovereign Square in Leeds, providing over 90,000 sq ft of grade A office space.
It is also on site constructing the £80m new waste treatment facility in Wakefield.
In Sheffield, Kier’s Services division holds two contracts with Sheffield City Council, worth £118m in total, to provide both the repairs and maintenance service to council tenants and around 2,200 leaseholders, as well as its corporate statutory servicing and repairs service.
Kier Services has also just extended its repairs and maintenance contract with Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, which is worth £55m over five years, continuing in the Property Repairs and Improvement Partnership (PRIP) with Berneslai Homes Construction Services.
Kier highlighted a robust future pipeline of work with Kier Construction boasting an improved order book of £2.6bn and Kier Services having secured and probable orders of £3.9bn. The property development pipeline sits at more than £1bn and the group said it has a strong forward sales position in the residential division.
The group reported underlying operating profit of £44.2m, which was almost identical to a year earlier.
Kier Group chief executive Haydn Mursell said: “I am pleased to announce a good set of results, once again reflecting Kier’s ability to deliver consistently whilst continuing to invest for medium-term growth.
“The order books of the construction and services divisions have increased to £6.5bn with revenue now fully secured for 2015. The property development pipeline sits at more than £1bn and we have a strong forward sales position in the residential division. With an improving market, we are seeing more and higher quality opportunities filling our pipeline.
“Significant positions on key frameworks, a disciplined approach to new work and an improving economy, position us well for the remainder of 2015 and over the medium term. A further increase in the interim dividend reflects our confidence in the future. We remain on course to meet the board’s expectations for the full year.”
