Ground engineering specialist posts solid results, but outlook for 2009 is less cheerful
Keller Group, the ground engineering specialist, has seen its turnover top 拢1bn for the first time.
The economic slowdown that began in the latter half of last year appears to have had little impact on Keller's business during 2008. It posted a turnover of 拢1.19bn in the year to 31 December, a 25% increase on the 2007 figure of 拢955m.
Pre-tax profit was, at 拢113m, up 10% from the year before, when Keller made 拢103m. The group's operating margins fell slightly from 2007's high of 11.2%, but still represented a healthy 10%.
Keller said it had made like-for-like organic revenue growth of 12%, with its business growing significantly in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
However, chairman Michael West said that the future was not looking quite so bright.
He said: 鈥淲e are certainly encountering tougher conditions in almost all our markets and we expect this to continue for some time... In this environment, we will inevitably see a significant reduction in revenue in some countries.鈥�
However, he added that, with its strong balance sheet and broad geographic spread, he expected Keller to outperform the general construction market in the medium to long term.
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