Keller said full-year results would easily beat expectations after first-half performance exceeded forecasts because of rising economic activity.
Underlying operating profit for the six months to the end of June fell 9% at constant currency to £39.5m as revenue fell 5% to £984.1m. Pretax profit rose 57% to £29.2m.
The geotechnical contractor kept its interim dividend unchanged at 12.6p a share, continuing a 27-year run of not cutting the payout since flotation. Keller shares rose 9.9% to 957p, their highest since October 2018, at 09:19 BST.
Profit fell because of the impact of Covid-19, higher steel prices in Keller’s Suncoast business and unrecognised revenue on suspended contracts in Africa. The company said momentum improved in the second quarter after a slow start to the year and that its order book rose 11% to a record £1.2bn at the end of June.
Michael Speakman, Keller’s chief executive, said: “The first half of this year saw the greatest impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the business and now we have passed this anticipated inflection point, as evidenced by our record order book, our confidence for the remainder of the year has increased. The group has weathered the challenges of the last twelve months well, and our materially improved expectation for the full year provides a great foundation to build from.”
