Keller Group remain strong in new performance report

Company maintains a £1.4 billion order book in 2022 amid market struggles.

The firm has bounced back in revenue by 22%, from £2.2 billion in 2021 to £2.9 billion in 2022. 

Numbers breakdown

2022 financials saw: 

• Underlying operating profit increased to £108.6 million, up by 12%. 
• Group operating margins were reduced by 3.7% due to inflation. 
• Statutory profit before tax decreased by 17% to £56.3 million due to,
• Increase in non-underlying costs of £37.2 million. 
• Free cash outflow of £33.8 million, due to,
• £110.5 million increase in working capital. 
• Net debt of £218 million, well within the Group’s leverage target of 0.5x-1.5x and the covenant limit of 3.0x. 
• Total dividend for the year of 37.7p, an increase of 2%. 

Company performance saw: 

• Overall accident frequency increased by 0.10%. 
•  28% reduction of carbon emissions from its 2019 baseline. 

Key insights 

Challenges brought about by pandemic-related labour, supply-chain shortages, and the war in Ukraine impacted the financials and operations of the firm. 

Main locations of growth were:

• In North America, where revenue is up by 29%. 
• Europe, where revenue increased by 19%, and underlying operational costs by 20%. 
• The AMEA Division, where revenue has increased by 9%, and underlying operational costs jumped to £6.6 million. 

Success in North America saw Keller integrate geotechnical and industrial services company, RECON, into their North America Division. 

In Europe, the firm acquired contractor Nordwest Fundamentering AS in November. 

The initial Works Order has been started, with piling completed ahead of schedule, on the NEOM smart city in Saudi Arabia. 

In January 2023, the firm identified a financial reporting fraud in Austral, Australia. 

An external forensic investigation confirmed that there was no cash leakage. 

There was an increase in finger injuries, reducing group safety performance, with 26 lost time injuries across its c10,000 employees. 

2023 Outlook 

The firm will be prioritising organic and target M&A growth opportunities. 

Business ventures with RECON and continued revenue growth from the NEOM project are also expected to improve performance this year. 

Due to the safety incident, the firm has introduced a new introduction process and ‘Safety Passport’ for its employees. 

“Whilst higher interest rates will increase our interest expense in 2023, we have entered the new financial year with increased momentum, a more solid operational base and are well placed for major contract awards,” said Michael Speakman, CEO of Keller Group. 

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