03/03/2008
Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2007
Keller Group plc ("Keller" or "the Group"), the international ground engineering specialist, is pleased to announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2007.Highlights include:
- Revenue* of £955.1m (2006: £857.7m), up 11%
- Strong organic growth, particularly from outside of US, and good contribution from acquisitions
- Record operating margin* of 11.2% (2006: 10.4%)
- Profit before tax* up 23% to £103.2m (2006: £83.7m)
- Earnings per share* up 24% to 97.6p (2006: 79.0p before one-off tax credit)
- Proposed final dividend of 12.0p (2006: 11.4p), taking the total dividend for the year to 18.0p (2006: 15.6p), a 15% increase
- Buy-back programme for up to 5% of share capital announced
*from continuing operations Justin Atkinson, Keller Chief Executive said: "This third consecutive year of excellent growth reflects not only the strength of our markets, but also the successful execution of our strategy. As a result, the size of our business has significantly increased, particularly outside of the US, creating opportunities, economies of scale and better geographic balance. "In the first few weeks of 2008, new orders, tendering and trading have all been encouraging. At the end of January, we had a record order book, with all four regions ahead of the same time last year, giving us a good platform for the remainder of this year." For further information, please contact: | Keller Group plc | www.keller.co.uk | | Justin Atkinson, Chief Executive | 020 7616 7575 | | James Hind, Finance Director | |  | | | Smithfield | | | Reg Hoare/Rupert Trefgarne | 020 7360 4900 |
A presentation for analysts will be held at 9.15 for 9.30am at The Theatre & Gallery, London Stock Exchange, 10 Paternoster Square, London, EC4M 7LS
Print resolution images are available for the media to download from www.vismedia.co.uk
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