By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 14 Nov 2024
LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Construction firm Kier Group said on Thursday that it had made a good start to the new trading year and expects its overall performance to be second-half weighted.
Kier said its order book currently stands at roughly £10.9bn, up by £100.0m since 30 June, and stated roughly 95% of FY25 revenues have now been estimated and secured, up from 90% and providing it with "a high degree of certainty".
The FTSE 250-listed group highlighted that "bidding discipline and risk management" embedded across the business had continued to drive the "high quality and profitable" order book.
Kier also noted that it has maintained its focus on operational delivery and cash management as it continued to de-leverage in-line with internal expectations and anticipates "a significant period-on-period improvement".
Chief executive Andrew Davies said: "The current financial year has started well and we are trading in line with our expectations. We are well positioned to benefit from UK Government infrastructure spending plans into areas where Kier offers market leading services. These strong structural drivers and further investments will allow us to further generate shareholder returns."
As of 1030 GMT, Kier shares were up 4.75% at 145.60p.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com