A “strong performance” from Kier Construction Scotland has boosted the Kier Group’s latest financial results.
The Group announced revenue of £4.2 billion (up 26% on last year) and profit before tax of £125 million (a 45% increase).
The Scottish arm of the business, which has a turnover in excess of £150 million and employs over 200 people, has won a number of high-profile contracts including restoring the fire-damaged Glasgow School of Art and refurbishment work at Edinburgh College of Art.
Brian McQuade, managing director of Kier Construction Scotland said, “We have a solid pipeline of work, largely from our partnership on a number of significant health and education frameworks. Most recently we have become a partner on the £125 million Aberdeenshire Council Capital Works Framework, been reappointed to deliver over £25 million of minor works projects as part of the £1.5 billion Scape National Minor Works Framework and are providing building works as part of Glasgow Airport’s framework over the next three years.
“In Scotland we are delivering major build projects across education, healthcare, commercial and retail sectors. We are also working on an exciting range of heritage projects, restoring some of the country’s most important landmarks for future generations to enjoy. Notably, we are managing the £25 million restoration of the fire damaged, world-renowned Mackintosh Building for Glasgow School of Art, where we are combining ancient heritage skills with modern engineering expertise.
“We are also working with the Edinburgh College of Art to refurbish its Grade A-listed sandstone building in Lauriston Place in a £14 million project – another scheme which has both local and international importance.”
Haydn Mursell, chief executive added, “I am pleased to report a good set of results reflecting the evolution of the Group during the year following the completion of the integration of Mouchel. This year, we have successfully focused on our commercial and capital disciplines and are pleased to report a significant improvement in our net debt, further strengthening our balance sheet and the delivery of a key Vision 2020 target: net debt: EBITDA of less than 1x, a year ahead of our expectations.
“The Group continues to perform well in growing market sectors including infrastructure, housing and regional building, providing a breadth of capabilities to our clients. For the first time, 50% of Group profit now comes from our Services division where essential day-to-day services are provided to clients and we have long-term visibility of our future pipeline of work.
“We remain focused on growing the business through improving operational efficiencies and investing in new technology to support our operations. We believe that our range of complementary businesses underpins the resilience of our operating model and the strength of our order book. Having completed the integration of Mouchel, we are well progressed with the simplification of our portfolio of businesses and are focused on capitalising on the growth opportunities available to the Group. We remain confident of achieving our goal of double-digit profit growth on average each year to 2020.”
