Half Year 2026 Keller Group PLC Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Record financial performance with revenue up 11% and underlying operating profit up 17.1% on a constant currency basis, marking the fourth consecutive record year.
- Strong growth in North America and APAC, driven by data center and infrastructure projects, with North America revenue up 16.7% and APAC up 22.8%.
- Improved operating margin to 7.3%, reflecting portfolio resilience and disciplined execution despite market challenges.
- Order book up 20% to £1.9 billion, underpinned by major infrastructure awards like the I-40 project, providing strong visibility for future revenue.
- Robust balance sheet with net cash for most of H1, £655 million headroom, and increased interim dividend by 57%, reflecting confidence in cash generation.
- EMEA revenue declined 5.2% due to Q1 weather disruption, fewer large projects, and reduced Trojena revenue, with the UK market particularly challenging.
- South Florida residential market weakness, with major developments delayed and multifamily revenue down by approximately a third.
- Moretrench business underperformed due to the impact of the Iran War on input costs, limiting investment and reducing profitability.
- Keller Australia faced margin pressures from pricing competition and severe Queensland weather, leading to flat operating profit despite record revenues.
- Free cash flow conversion reduced due to increased working capital and CapEx, with no material claim settlements expected in H2.
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the presentation of Keller's half year results for 2026. I'm James Wroath and I'm the Chief Executive.
Before I get on to the main business of the day, very sadly since our full year results, you'll know that my predecessor Michael Speakman, sadly passed away at Easter. And I wanted to take this opportunity to pay a final tribute to him.
The results that you see today and many of the themes that come out in terms of just how great a business Keller is lead directly from Mike's work with the management team. And the changes that were made in the last five or six years have been fundamental, in my belief, to how Keller has performed. So very sad the business will always remember Mike, but he did an absolutely superb job with Keller.
So on with the presentation for today. Firstly, the cautionary statements, which I'm sure is a slide that you're all very familiar with. For our agenda this morning, I'm going to take you through a snapshot of our results before
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