Keller shares soar after engineer bumps up profits outlook
Ground engineering group Keller’s shares soared this morning after the company said it was on track for a record year, with operating profits expected to be “materially ahead” of market expectations.
Shares in the FTSE 250 firm were up more than 14 per cent in early trading, despite concerns over tougher trading in its UK and Europe regions.
London-headquartered Keller specialises in geotechnical engineering for the construction sector. It has worked on major projects including the London Olympic stadium and more recently Neom, Saudi Arabia’s flagship linear smart city on the Red Sea coast.
The group said today its Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Australia segments performed strongly, with the latter returning to profit in the third quarter.
In North America, more resilient pricing in its Suncoast offshoot and improvements in the contractor’s foundations business have seen operating margins surpass expectations.
But the company warned of weak demand in its residential and commercial sectors in Europe, as a result of macroeconomic challenges including inflation and high interest rates.
Keller said that profit improvements in its European business would be less than expected, with earnings hurt by the “competitive pricing environment and the impact of some challenging projects”.
Michael Speakman, chief executive, said: “The Keller team has built on an exceptionally strong first half to deliver a better than expected third-quarter performance, and consequently we now expect full-year underlying profit to be materially ahead of current market expectations.”
“This performance reflects continued momentum and operational improvements within the business and the outstanding contribution of colleagues across the group.”
Shares in Keller are up more than 27 per cent in the year to date. The company posted a record half-year performance in July, netting £67m in operating profits.