LONDON (ShareCast) - Ground engineering specialist Keller Group saw trading conditions in-line with expectations in the period from 1 July to 16 November, with steady growth in US construction and busy conditions in Asia offset by difficult European markets and weakness in Australia.
No improvement was seen in investment in the Canadian resources markets, while early signs of a recovery in Australia dissipated over recent months, Keller told investors in a regulatory statement. Few signs of improvement in Europe were evident either.
The company pointed out however that there remained a number of major prospects for the second half of 2015 and into 2016 in Australia.
Despite all of the above, overall both revenue and operating profit were running ahead of the comparable period of 2013.
Nevertheless, order book intake did slow "somewhat" in recent months , with the like-for-like order book at the end of October, for work to be executed over the next 12 months, standing slightly behind the level seen at the same time last year.
Order intake slowed significantly in Australia but was near record levels Stateside. There were signs of improvement in the Indian construction market too.
No material change in the group´s financial position was reported.
Regarding the contract dispute in the UK announced on 30 July, and despite extensive efforts by senior management, the company said that "there have been no material developments."
Management expects to meet full-year expectations
On the subject of the company´s outlook the group´s chief executive officer, Justin Atkinson, said, "we continue to expect the Group's results for the full year to be in line with current market expectations.
"Looking ahead, conditions in our largest market, the US, are encouraging and, across the Group, there are a number of exciting and large projects at various stages in the bidding process".
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
1,208.00p
