Keller hit by zero growth and falling margins

Keller has warned of shrinking margins and zero growth in a gloomy statement to the London Stock Exchange.

The ground engineering specialist said final year results would be at the lower end of expectations.

Keller’s results will be hit by £3m of redundancy and restructuring costs in the fourth quarter. It said challenging conditions in mature markets such as the UK and US had forced it to take further cost cutting measures.

Keller said revenue for the four months to October 2010 was unchanged from the same period last year, but said margins were continuing to be squeezed.

Turnover for the first six months of the year was 14% down on the same period in 2009.

In the UK, Keller said cost cutting measures in the first half failed to compensate for reduced revenues in the second half.

Bright spots included Australia, where Keller said it had benefited from infrastructure and resources-related projects, and India and other Asian markets. It reported stable markets in the Middle East.

Keller’s order book was also 7% ahead of the same time last year compared with 1% on June 30.