Kier gets boost from Scottish projects
● Firm undertakes work for Glasgow School of Art and Burrell Collection
“As a business we are confident for the future. The frameworks give us a really good foundation on which to grow.”
GORDON REID
Kier Group, the construction and infrastructure heavyweight, is on track to deliver double-digit profit growth in 2018 after its first-half results were helped by a solid showing at its Scottish arm.
The firm, which is involved in a string of key building frameworks north of the Border, yesterday posted an operating profit of £60 million for the six months to the end of December, up almost 5 per cent on a year earlier. Underlying revenue lifted 8 per cent to £2.15 billion as the group reported a strong order book at its construction and services business.
The Kier Construction Scotland unit is on course to maintain turnover stability at about £150m for the year and is gearing up for a growth target of £200m by 2020. The Scottish business employs more than 200 people from its offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness.
Brian Mcquade, managing director of Kier Construction Scotland, said the firm had a “robust pipeline of activity”, thanks to a number of important framework and tender wins. We have secured a place on 14 national frameworks across Scotland and this includes our most recent appointment as tier one contractor to Hub West, where we will deliver a range of public sector capital works projects throughout west central Scotland.
“We have added to our strong education portfolio with a number of contract wins, including our appointment by the University of Edinburgh to carry out the £7.7m transformation of Murchison House into a dynamic, multifunctional teaching and study hub, and our appointment to the University of Strathclyde’s £250m framework for major building construction to support the delivery of its ongoing capital investment plan.”
Gordon Reid, regional business development manager for Kier Construction Scotland, said the firm had been building up its “heritage” portfolio, including the restoration of the Mackintosh Building for Glasgow School of Art and the refurbishment of listed buildings at Edinburgh College of Art and Aberdeen Music Hall.
The company has also been appointed as the contractor to support Glasgow Life in its £66m refurbishment of the Burrell Collection.
“There have been some challenges getting the right crafts people and the right materials, which has meant trawling the UK and even further afield,” Reid said.
“As a business we are confident for the future. The frameworks give us a really good foundation on which to grow and then look at other sectors that we perhaps don’t have such a strong foothold in at the moment.”
Kier Group’s interim shareholder dividend has been raised to 23p from 22.5p a year earlier. Chief executive Haydn Mursell said: “The group is performing well. Our £9.5bn construction and services order book, combined with our £3.5bn pipeline in the property and residential divisions, provides good visibility of work over the medium term.
“Our portfolio of businesses provides balance and resilience and our approach to risk management is evident in the margin performance we have delivered over many years. We remain on course to deliver double-digit profit growth in 2018.”