Strong performance by Kier Group
Property, residential, construction and services group Kier, which employs over 400 people across the West Midlands, has announced strong interim results for the half year to the end of December.
Kier, which is responsible for the delivery of a number of major construction projects across the region, saw revenue rise 32 per cent to £2.1 billion, but pre-tax profit was down from £27.8 million to £18m, which includes non-underlying costs of £15.5m relating to the integration of Mouchel.
Kier is delivering the £12m Waterfront leisure development in Walsall, comprising a state-of-the-art eight-screen cinema and a number of food and retail outlets, and recently completed the £24m accident and emergency unit at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
It is also building around 300 new homes in Kings Norton, Birmingham in a major new £40m mixed tenure housing scheme for Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust, and later this year is due to complete Goodman's £12m development at Eastside Locks in Birmingham, which is the first speculative office scheme to be constructed in the city since the recession.
Kier chief executive Haydn Mursell said: "I am pleased to announce a good set of interim results which show the continued strength and breadth of the group's capabilities and our presence in growing market sectors. The group remains on course to deliver expectations for the full-year.
"In the UK, our core markets are improving which provides a platform for growth, particularly for our property, residential and regional building businesses, and over the medium-term for our infrastructure businesses. Mouchel has been substantially integrated and is performing well. Our presence in infrastructure services, regional building and housing aligns to growth markets with high visibility of forward pipelines and now accounts for 75 per cent of the group's turnover.
"We are encouraged by the robust pipelines in property and residential and the order books totalling £9bn in construction and aervices. We remain focused on ensuring that the group is fit for growth by continuing to focus on our operational efficiency and continuing to manage risk closely. This discipline, combined with the resilience and flexibility provided by the portfolio of businesses in the Ggroup, will continue to underpin our performance. We look forward to the future with confidence."
