Press releases

Full Year Results Announcement for the year ended 31 December 2009

02 March 2010

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 2009.

Results summary:
	2009	2008*
Revenue	£1,037.9m	£1,196.6m
Operating profit	£77.3m	£119.4m
Profit before tax	£74.7m	£113.2m
Earnings per share	78.8p	111.1p
Cash from continuing operations	£123.2m	£143.5m
Total dividend per share	21.75p	20.7p
*2008 comparators relate to results from continuing operations. There were no discontinued operations in 2009.

Highlights include:

• Good contract performance and firm cost control keep operating margin high by historic standards

• Further geographical diversification, with 26% of 2009 revenue coming from Australia and developing markets

• October acquisition of Resource Holdings Limited in Singapore for an initial cash and debt-free consideration of £27.1m, bringing critical mass to the Group’s operations in South East Asia

• Cash generated from operations represents 109% of EBITDA, reflecting strong focus on cash collection and working capital

• Year-end net debt of £78.8m (0.7x EBITDA); committed facilities of over £200m with substantial covenant headroom

• Total dividend of 21.75p (2008: 20.7p), a 5% increase, maintaining our track record of increasing the dividend every year since flotation

Justin Atkinson, Keller Chief Executive said:

“The Group’s 2009 results held up well, given that most of our markets were severely depressed throughout the year. Despite a general shortage of contract awards, resulting in intense competition and tighter pricing, good overall contract performance and our firm cost control mitigated the impact on the Group’s operating margin.

“The Group is in a very sound financial position, which we will safeguard through our constant focus on cash generation and costs. From this position of strength, we expect to continue to grow in those markets which offer good opportunities. In more mature markets, the actions taken to protect our profitability mean that we will emerge from the downturn even stronger and ready to seize the advantage, as these regions recover.

“By focusing on what we do best, we are confident that we will maintain our track record of out-performing our markets over the medium to long term.”

For further information, please contact:

Keller Group plc
	www.keller.co.uk
Justin Atkinson, Chief Executive	020 7616 7575
James Hind, Finance Director
Smithfield
Rupert Trefgarne/Will Henderson	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

View the full press release in PDF format (441KB)