Keller expects full year in line with market views

Engineering specialist Keller Group said it remains confident results for the year will be in line with current market expectations despite challenging conditions in many of its markets, thanks in part to strength in its main market of US construction.

Keller said overall trading in the four months to the end of October has been in line with management expectations. Year-to-revenue remains down on last year on the back of lower revenue from major projects, namely due to the completion of the Wheatstone project last year.

Meanwhile, operating profit is ahead of this time last year, helped by solid operational progress and some good final project settlements, particularly in the US.

The group said the order book at the end of October, for work to be executed over the next twelve months, including that of acquired businesses, is around 20% higher than the same time last year. On a like-for-like basis, this increase is around 15%.

Keller said the acquisitions of GeoConstruction Group for $44m (£29m) and Austral Construction Pty Limited for an initial consideration of A$40m (£19m) were both completed in the period.

The company said the ongoing improvement in the US construction market continues to contribute to good results from its US businesses as a whole.

Case and HJ, both of which have strong positions in their regional markets, have performed well whilst Suncoast continues to benefit from the increase in housing starts.