REG - Keller Group PLC - Trading Update

KellerAnnouncement

18/11/2021 07:00

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RNS Number : 7392S  Keller Group PLC  18 November 2021

  18 November 2021
Keller Group plc
 
Trading Update

 

Full year outlook in line with market expectations

 

Keller Group plc ('Keller' or 'the Group'), the world's largest geotechnical
specialist contractor, today issues an update on the Group's trading for the
period ended 31 October 2021.

 

Trading Update

 

Since our half year results announcement on 3 August 2021, trading has largely
continued as anticipated as the world progressively recovers from the direct
impact of the pandemic and the Group's overall performance for 2021 is
expected to be in line with market expectations, underpinned by the order book
that remains at a record level of c£1.2bn.

 

In North America, the recovery of trading post COVID-19 is most advanced,
albeit the speed of recovery is being impacted by confidence, inflation and
resource availability issues which we are seeing to various degrees across our
US businesses. The impact of steel pricing at Suncoast, the Group's
post-tension business, has continued as expected and demand in the residential
sector currently remains robust. We have made good progress integrating RECON
Services, the geotechnical environmental remediation and industrial services
company based in Texas, which we acquired in July 2021. The recent
Presidential Executive Order, which becomes effective in January 2022,
mandating COVID-19 vaccination for any employee associated with
Federally-funded projects adds a further industry-wide challenge to managing
our resources in the US, where we are unable to mandate vaccinations
ourselves, especially in states where vaccination take up has been low.

 

Trading across Europe is in line with our expectations, with markets emerging
more tentatively from the impact of the pandemic as previously highlighted.
Despite the increased cost and reduced availability of raw materials and
qualified labour in certain markets, we have seen a general trend of improved
trading. Our project performance on HS2 in the UK continues to progress well.

 

The recovery of trading in AMEA (Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa) post
COVID-19 remains the most challenging, especially in the Australia and Middle
East and Africa businesses with countries still relying on lockdowns and
restrictions in advance of vaccination programmes. In Mozambique, the LNG
project remains suspended due to terrorist activity in the region. We have
however recently signed a settlement agreement with the client that will
largely reverse the contract loss incurred to date and protect the Group in
the event that the contract does not resume in the short to medium term.

 

Strategic Progress

 

We have continued to execute our strategy to increase market share in our
chosen markets with three, small bolt-on acquisitions in the period:

 

·    Our joint venture in Finland, KFS Finland Oy, acquired NordPile, a
driven and drilling piling contractor, in September. This acquisition
reinforces KFS's position as the largest geotechnical specialist contractor in
the region offering the widest range of solutions.

·    In October, Keller North America acquired Subterranean (Manitoba), a
geotechnical contractor specialising in driven and cast-in-place pile
foundations, based in Manitoba, Canada.

·      In November, Keller North America also acquired Voges Drilling, a
geotechnical foundation company, focussed on drilled shafts in the San Antonio
and Austin markets in Texas.

We will integrate these businesses into the local Keller businesses in the
coming months and, in line with our strategy, reinforce Keller's market
position in the respective local markets. We expect the year end net
debt/EBITDA leverage to be in the bottom half of our 0.5x-1.5x range, driven
by a continued strong cash performance.

 

Michael Speakman, CEO, said: "Keller is performing well in the current
environment, despite various challenges, and we continue to have a strong
order book and to make good progress on our strategic initiatives. Overall,
our outlook for the full year remains in line with market expectations."

 

The Group will announce its full year results for 2021 on 8 March 2022.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Keller Group plc                                      www.keller.com (https://www.keller.com)

                                                       020 7616 7575
 Michael Speakman, Chief Executive Officer

 David Burke, Chief Financial Officer

 Caroline Crampton, Group Head of Investor Relations

 FTI Consulting                                        020 3727 1340

 Nick Hasell / Matthew O'Keeffe

 

 

Notes to editors:

Keller is the world's largest geotechnical specialist contractor providing a
wide portfolio of advanced foundation and ground

improvement techniques used across the entire construction sector. With around
9,000 staff and operations across five continents, Keller tackles an
unrivalled 6,000 projects every year, generating annual revenue of more than
£2bn.

 

 

Cautionary statements:

This document contains certain 'forward looking statements' with respect to
Keller's financial condition, results of operations and business and certain
of Keller's plans and objectives with respect to these items. Forward looking
statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a date in
the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', 'could', 'may',
'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'potential', 'reasonably
possible', 'targets', 'goal' or 'estimates'. By their very nature
forward-looking statements are inherently unpredictable, speculative and
involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors
that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors
include, but are not limited to, changes in the economies and markets in which
the group operates; changes in the regulatory and competition frameworks in
which the group operates; the impact of legal or other proceedings against or
which affect the group; and changes in interest and exchange rates. For a more
detailed description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors, please
see the Risk Management approach and Principal Risks section of the Strategic
Report in the Annual Report and Accounts. All written or verbal forward
looking statements, made in this document or made subsequently, which are
attributable to Keller or any other member of the group or persons acting on
their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred
to above. Keller does not intend to update these forward looking statements.
Nothing in this document should be regarded as a profits forecast. This
document is not an offer to sell, exchange or transfer any securities of
Keller Group plc or any of its subsidiaries and is not soliciting an offer to
purchase, exchange or transfer such securities in any jurisdiction. Securities
may not be offered, sold or transferred in the United States absent
registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of
the US Securities Act of 1933 (as amended).

 

LEI: 549300QO4MBL43UHSN10

Classification: 2.2 Inside information

 

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