Keller: Engineer and HS2 contractor’s shares surge on record profit thanks to ‘Bidenomics’
Shares in engineer Keller shot up by over nine per cent at market open on Tuesday, after firm’s profit more than doubled in the first half of the year.
Profit before tax at the FTSE 250 constituent, which is the world’s largest specialist in earth and ground engineering and was one of the main contractors on HS2, jumped 121 per cent in the six months to June 30 to £95.3m, while underlying profit rose 69 per cent to £113.2m.
The record half-year performance – hailed by the firm’s boss as “outstanding” – was largely down to the infrastructure boom taking place in the US in the wake of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Keller’s underlying profit increased 68 per cent in the region.
Overall revenue of £1.5bn also represented a rise of five per cent at constant currency, and its underlying profit margin increased 300 basis points to 7.7 per cent.
Underlying diluted earnings per share rose 85 per cent to 103.3p.
The results come after a reporting period that could have been challenging for the engineering group. In its full year results for the year ended December 31, out last March, it had also seen a big profit jump from £93.5m to £153.4m.
Michael Speakman, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Keller achieved outstanding results in the first half of the year, setting new records across the Group, as we continued to sustain and build on the material step-up in operational and financial performance delivered in 2023.
“We maintained our focus on sustainable markets and attractive projects and the results reflect both the strength of the Group’s presence in the buoyant North American market and our continuous group wide emphasis on improving project execution and delivery.”
Keller’s shares rose by nearly 10 per cent to an all time high on Tuesday morning, capping what has been a red letter year for the group during which shares have soared 77 per cent in just eight months.