Keller profit plunges 80% despite HS2 contracts

Ground engineering firm Keller suffered an 80 per cent drop in pre-tax profit despite its lucrative HS2 contracts.

The Coventry-based company recorded profit before tax of £918,000 – down from £4.5m in its previous accounting period.

Its latest accounts for the 2024 calendar year also saw turnover drop 22 per cent from £124.6m to £96.9m.

The directors’ statement cited a “weakening in market demand” in the UK construction sector for the results and said it had a “one-off large foundation contract” in the previous year.

However, the directors added that the firm’s ongoing work includes two HS2 contracts worth £262m in a pair of joint ventures.

Keller’s employee count reduced by more than a quarter from 491 to 381, which saw its wages bill drop from £29.3m to £27.6m.

The firm had £6.2m cash in bank compared with £3.8m the previous year.

It paid no dividends and held no loans or overdrafts, and ended 2024 with £2.9m in provisions for contract losses.

In 2023, Keller made it to second place in CN’s annual Specialists Index for ground engineering.

Besides its HS2 contracts, other ongoing work for Keller includes a £90m project to redevelop London’s St Regis hotel in Westminster, which is due to open next year.

It has also been involved in a £900m wind farm facility in Middlesbrough and an £85m revamp of the National Gallery.

Earlier this year, Michael Speakman, chief executive of parent company Keller Group, told Construction News the UK market remained a minor part of its overall business – accounting for just “2 or 3 per cent” of its 2024 revenue – with HS2 being the most prominent project.

In March, Keller Group reported a record year-end order book of £1.6bn compared with £1.5bn in 2023.

For the year ending 31 December 2024, revenue at Keller Group reached £3.1bn, up 5 per cent from £2.95bn in 2023.

Higher turnover helped to generate a 46 per cent increase in pre-tax profit from £125.6m to £183.9m.

The group’s North American division remained a major contributor to its success, with a 4.2 per cent turnover growth to £1.78bn.