No recession here says Kier with record rise

CONSTRUCTION-to-housebuilder Kier Group gave investors a shot in the arm today as it revealed a record 33% increase in taxable profits over the full year, with chief executive Colin Busby shrugging off talk of any recessionary signs reappearing, writes Richard Phillips.

"I know that's the popular view, and it's not for me to suggest everyone else has got it wrong, but we can't see any sign of it," he said, although he conceded that the company was unlikely to achieve the same rate of growth in 1999 as it has done this year.

Kier was buoyed by a strong performance in its housebuilding division, although the recent GBP 13.6 million acquisition of housebuilder Bell-winch contributed only four days to the figures. Next year, Busby hopes the housebuilding division will sell 650 homes, at an average price of GBP 125,000 each, against the 480 units sold in the year to June 30 at a little over GBP 100,000. Housebuilding profits rose to GBP 6.6 million from GBP 4.3 million.

Construction, despite a profits rise to GBP 3.2 million from GBP 2.8 million, continued to operate on feeble margins of around 1 1/2%, on sales of GBP 685 million.

Group sales rose to GBP 749.6 million from GBP 677.2 million, and pre-tax profits were GBP 10.8 million, up from GBP 8.6 million. The final dividend is boosted 17% to 5.4p from 4.6p to make 8p for the full year, an increase of 16%. The shares jumped 6p to 225 1/2p.

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