Profit slips but geotechnical engineer says full-year expectations unchanged
Keller said workloads in the booming North America market were now starting to steady as the firm said revenue in the first half stayed flat.
The geotechnical engineer, which has been working on parts of the HS2 scheme in the Midlands, said revenue in the six months to June remained at £1.4bn. Pre-tax profit was down 8% to £87m.
North America accounts for more than half its workload with revenue in the first half of £868m.
In its results, the FTSE 250 firm said: “Whilst there is increased uncertainty over the US construction backdrop, the order book for North America at the period end was strong.”
Around 3% of its business in the UK but the firm said: “In the UK, despite comparable volumes versus the prior period, continuing challenging market conditions had a negative impact on margin.”
The firm said it was in discussions “with the client to remedy the contractual position on the challenging project” in the Middle East with revenue from this business and Europe down 3% to £408m. But underlying operating profit more than quadrupled to £14.6m with the firm saying the jump “reflected an overall improvement in project execution and operational performance across the division”.
Keller said its full year expectations were unchanged with the firm adding that its dividend for 2025 would be up 5% on last time.
The firm confirmed that James Wroath is joining as chief executive on 18 August after saying last month incumbent Michael Speakman was standing down for medical reasons after nearly six years in charge.
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