Keller 2018 interim results
Record first half revenue of £1,075m driven by constant currency growth of 15%
Strong underlying constant currency operating profit growth of 22%
Divisional performance
North America: strong growth in both revenue and profit, despite poor weather in the first quarter
EMEA: solid performance with profits maintained despite less revenue from large projects and a harsh winter
APAC: losses substantially reduced; profitable second quarter and an encouraging order book
Tendering activity remains positive and the order book remains healthy - up 1% excluding the Caspian project, giving confidence for the full year
Net debt increased to £367m, representing 1.9x annualised EBITDA, due to the Moretrench acquisition, strong organic growth and normal seasonal working capital outflows - currently expected to be around 1.5x at year end
Underlying earnings per share increased 17% to 41.0p
Interim dividend per share of 12.0p, up 24%, following the upward rebasing of the 2017 full year dividend
Alain Michaelis, Chief Executive, said:
"We remain encouraged by the group's progress. Despite a harsh northern hemisphere winter, we are reporting a strong financial performance for the first half of the year. Broadly healthy markets, consistent operational delivery and business improvement projects have all contributed to this performance. We remain well positioned to benefit from the global trends of urbanisation and infrastructure growth and we continue to advance our strategic objectives. We are confident of making further progress in the second half."
