AGM Trading Update
Keller Group plc reported a strong start to 2026, with trading performance exceeding the prior year and meeting expectations, particularly in North American foundations operations, despite macroeconomic uncertainties. The company has successfully managed increased costs by capturing price increases and has a robust order book of approximately £1.7 billion as of April 2026. Keller has also initiated a new £100 million share buyback program, having already repurchased £18 million worth of shares. The net debt/EBITDA leverage ratio is expected to remain low, similar to the prior half-year, well within the target range. Management is confident in sustaining improved operational and financial performance throughout the year.
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Keller Group plc ('Keller' or 'the Group'), the world's largest geotechnical specialist contractor, issues a trading update for the first four months of the year (the 'period') ahead of its Annual General Meeting, which will be held at 10.00am today.
Trading in the period was strong compared with the prior year and in line with the Group's expectations, particularly within the Group's North American foundations operations, despite significant macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. The Group remains resilient to macro-driven increased energy and material costs by capturing price increases across new contracts and through existing contract mechanisms.
Overall, management remains confident that the improved operational and financial performance experienced in recent years will be sustained, and that the Group will deliver a full year result in line with the Board's expectations.
The Group's order book has strengthened during the period to c£1.7bn at the end of April 2026. Tendering activity remains buoyant and the Group has good visibility of future opportunities across all divisions.
Following completion of the share buybacks announced in 2025, which returned approximately £50m, the Group launched a further £100m share buyback programme on 30 March 2026. Since launch, the Group has purchased approximately 834,000 shares at a cost of c£18m under this new programme.
The Group's net debt/EBITDA leverage ratio at the first half of 2026 is expected to be similar to the prior half year (2025 HY: 0.2x), well below the Group's 0.5x-1.5x target range, despite the higher dividend payout and the further share buyback programme.
James Wroath, Keller's Chief Executive Officer, said:
"I am very pleased with the performance our teams have delivered so far this year. This has been achieved against a backdrop of continued global uncertainty reflecting the resilience of Keller's portfolio, the diversity of our contracts and the Group's ability to pivot to growing markets.
Looking ahead, we continue to target potential bolt-on opportunities across our markets and remain confident in our ability to sustain this momentum and deliver strong performance through the remainder of 2026."
Keller will announce its Interim Results on 4 August 2026. The Group also intends to host a Capital Markets Day on 14 October 2026 in London.
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.