‘Significant progress’ as Kier grows revenue and profit

Kier chief executive Andrew Davies hailed “significant operational and financial progress” after the tier one contractor posted increased revenue and profit in its interim results.

The Salford-headquartered contractor revealed turnover of £1.97bn for the six months to 31 December 2024.

This was up 6 per cent from the same period a year earlier, while pre-tax profit grew by the same proportion to £28.6m.

Kier said this morning (11 March) that its net cash position soared from £17m in the second half of 2023 to almost £58m in the second half of 2024.

It added that it had secured 98 per cent of its revenue for the current full-year period.

Kier’s order book by 31 December stood at £11bn.

The contractor announced a £20m share buyback scheme at the start of this year, and today it proposed a 20 per cent hike in its interim dividend to 2p per share.

Davies said: “The group has continued to make significant operational and financial progress.

“The first half saw Kier deliver increased revenue and profitable growth while maintaining strong margins. We continued to grow the order book which, at £11bn, provides us with good multi-year visibility.

“Our strong cash performance allowed us to significantly increase the interim dividend payment and commence an initial £20m share buyback programme in January 2025.”

Kier also reduced its average month-end net debt from £137m to £38m in the second half of last year.

Davies said the second half of Kier’s financial year had “started well” and the company was trading in line with the board’s expectations.

“The group is confident in sustaining the strong cash generation achieved over the past few years and is well positioned to continue benefiting from UK Government infrastructure spending commitments,” he added.

Since the period covered by the interim accounts, Kier has been appointed to an £850m utilities framework in Yorkshire and won a £117.7m army accommodation job under the £5bn Defence Estate Optimisation initiative.

Data from intelligence provider Glenigan also showed that the contractor surged to the top of the February contract league table after bagging two prison jobs worth a combined £800m.