Trading conditions remained tough last year for Keller, and profits showed a predictable decline after the world's largest ground engineering specialist issued a string of profit warnings. Yet, despite such difficulties, the order book ended the year up 40 per cent from the previous year at a record high.
Keller's performance was split into two distinct camps. US markets, which account for around 41 per cent of group turnover, saw revenue up 11 per cent at £471.1m, and operating profits up from £6.9m to £12m. Margins also rose, up from 1.6 per cent to 2.5 per cent, but remain a pale shadow of the long-term average of nearer 7 per cent.
In contrast, profits from Asia dipped from £11.8m to £6m and margins from 12.8 per cent to 7.8 per cent, as a result of tough trading in Singapore and contract delays in India. And the Australian operation was up against some tough comparables - its operating profits fell from £19.1m to £6.7m and margins slid from 9.9 per cent to 3.0 per cent.
Investec is forecasting 2012 normalised pre-tax profits of £30m and EPS of 32.5p (£21.9m and 24.4p in 2011).
| KELLER (KLR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 428p | MARKET VALUE: | £275m | |
| TOUCH: | 427-429p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 680p | LOW: 233p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.3% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 494p* | NET DEBT: | 31% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 0.96 | 103 | 98.0 | 18.0 |
| 2008 | 1.20 | 113 | 111 | 20.7 |
| 2009 | 1.04 | 74.7 | 79.0 | 21.8 |
| 2010 | 1.07 | 17.8 | 44.0 | 22.8 |
| 2011 | 1.15 | 21.9 | 24.8 | 22.8 |
| % change | +7 | +23 | - | - |
Ex-div: 2 May Payment: 31 May *Includes intangible assets of £101m, or 156p a share | ||||
