Kier Group PLC (LON:KIE) rose on Thursday after the infrastructure services company posted a rise in full-year profit thanks to new projects and contract wins and unveiled plans to simplify its operations.
For the year ended 30 June 2018, the FTSE 250-listed firm reported a headline pre-tax profit of £106.2mln, a swing around from a loss of £14.2mln a year earlier as revenue increased by 5% to £4.5bn, up from £4.3bn.
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The move back to profit was mainly due to substantially reduced one-off costs of £30.7mln, down from £140.3mln a year earlier when the group conducted a portfolio simplification, involving the closure of its Hong Kong and Caribbean operations.
On an adjusted basis, Kier’s pre-tax profit was 9.0% higher at £136.9mln, up from £126.1mln a year earlier.
In June, Kier launched its ‘Future Proofing’ programme designed to focus on simplifying and streamlining its operations. The group is targeting proceeds from non-core businesses of between £30mln to £50mln in the 2020 financial year.
All divisions performing well
Kier’s chief executive, Haydn Mursell hailed a “good set of results with all divisions performing well.”
He added: "The Future Proofing Kier programme positions the group well for an improvement in operating margins and higher cash generation, culminating in a net cash position for financial 2021.”
Kier will pay a full-year dividend of 69.0p per share, up 2% from last year’s 67.5p payout.
In early afternoon trading, Kier shares were 2.8% higher at 1,069p.