Construction and property services giant Kier Group said yesterday a strong Scottish performance helped to deliver a 54% jump in profits.
Kier reported underlying pre-tax profits of £73.1million for the 12 months to June 30, up from £47.6million the year before.
Underlying operating profits increased by 59% to £88million.
Revenue soared by 51% to £3billion, with the total swollen by the impact of Kier’s £221million acquisition of construction, engineering and maintenance firm May Gurney in July last year.
Kier’s construction arm is one of five principal supply chain partners on Frameworks Scotland 2, the publicly funded procurement initiative behind £600million-worth of construction, renovation and maintenance projects for the NHS.
The company is also part of the a “prime contractor framework” set up by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to deliver the majority of its building projects across the north.
In Aberdeen, Kier is currently working on several large build projects.
These include infrastructure works worth £6million for a new business park, The Core, at Bridge of Don and a £6million project to build the UK’s largest science and technology school at Robert Gordon’s College.
Kier is also working on a £5million homeless and supported accommodation centre for Aberdeen City Council and a £9.5million extension to the Robert Gordon University campus at Garthdee.
Brian McQuade, managing director for Kier Construction in Scotland and north-east England, said: “The construction sector has shown increased buoyancy in recent months and this is reflected in our own business, where we have demonstrated sustainable growth this year.
“We have secured significant new contracts in Scotland and have a strong order book and a healthy cash balance.”
Bedfordshire-based Kier highlighted a robust future pipeline, with orders for its construction and services divisions worth a total of £6.2billion – up from £4.3billion a year ago – and 88% of the work already secured or probable.
Chief executive Haydn Mursell added: “I am pleased to report a good set of results showing significant progress on last year and demonstrating the robust operational performance of the business and the benefits of the May Gurney acquisition.”
“Despite inflationary price and labour challenges in the market, our margins remained robust.
“Following the integration of May Gurney, which transformed the scale and diversity of the group, the breadth of our capabilities has resulted in new as well as larger contract awards.
“Since taking up the CEO role on 1 July 2014, the group’s strategy has been refreshed.
“Vision 2020, a strategy for sustainable profitable growth, will see the group aim to deliver double-digit compound annual profit growth for the period to 2020 and be a top three player in our chosen markets.”