British contractor Kier plans to raise up to $334 mln (updated)

Carillion

21/04/2021 08:32

(Adds details on outlook, share sale and background)
    April 21 (Reuters) - Kier Group  KIE.L  said on Wednesday it
plans to raise 190 million-240 million pounds ($334.34 million)
by offering new shares, as the British contractor looks to cut
its net debt and invest more in its businesses to meet near-term
targets.
    Kier set out the proposal as it reported a pretax profit of
9 million pounds for six months ended Dec. 31, 2020, from a loss
of 41.2 million pounds a year earlier. On an adjusted basis,
pretax profit fell 9.4%.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nRSU0968Wa
    The order book stood at 8 billion pounds by the end of the
reported period, covering 62% of the revenue target for the year
through June 30, 2022, the company said.
    The contractor, whose shares have risen nearly 22% this
year, also added that it is confident of achieving further
progress in line with its expectations.
    Kier has been striving to lower its debt burden by
suspending dividend for two years, cutting jobs, shutting
offices and selling some units, following the collapse of its
peers Carillion Plc  CLLN.L  and Interserve Plc  ISVJF.PK  over
the past few years.
    Last week, the company disposed of its Kier Living business
for 110 million pounds, and that is expected to help further in
cash generation and reduce its debt pile.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nRSP7941Va
    Shares in Kier, whose net debt rose to 354 million pounds at
the end of 2020 from 310 million pounds, were down about 1% in
choppy trade by 0715 GMT. 

    ($1 = 0.7178 pounds)
    
    

 (Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Uttaresh.V and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Indranil.Sarkar@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile:  +91
7022132226;))