Kier profits hit record £41m

Keir has unveiled a record pre-tax profit of £41m as the group continues to fire on all cylinders.

Latest figures for the 12 months to 30 June show turnover little changed at £1.5bn but with profit 22% higher than last year’s figure of £33m.

In the construction division, the operating margin climbed from last year’s 1.0% to 1.3% as a turnover of £1.2bn generated an operating profit of close to £16m. A valuable spin off is that construction continued to pour working cash into Kier’s housebuilding division where operating profit ran to £32m, some £6m higher than last year.

During the period there was a record £850m-worth of construction awards of which 36% were in the public sector, particularly education (21%) and health (7%).

The deficit in the Kier pension scheme, according to accounting standard FRS17, has been trimmed from £80m to £67m as a result of the market value of scheme assets rising by 11% while liabilities rose by a more modest 4%.

Recent changes include increases in pension contributions, changes in early retirement terms and a revised approach to investment strategy.