Profits soar 45% at construction group Kier

Kier recently won a deal for the revamp of Edinburgh College of Art. Picture: Contributed

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Construction group Kier today hailed a strong performance at its Scottish arm as it unveiled a 45 per cent jump in annual profits.

The firm, which employs about 200 people north of the Border, reported a pre-tax profit of £125 million for the 12 months to the end of June, up from £86m a year earlier.

Revenues grew 26 per cent to a record £4.2 billion and chief executive Haydn Mursell said he was confident that Kier would achieve its goal of delivering “double-digit profit growth on average each year to 2020”.

He added: “We believe that our range of complementary businesses underpins the resilience of our operating model and the strength of our order book.”

The group’s Kier Construction Scotland division, which has offices in Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow, recently won a £14m contract to refurbish Edinburgh College of Art – the latest in a string of deals across the education sector.

Edinburgh College of Art draws up Â£14m revamp

Other projects include the £43m William McIlvanney Campus at Kilmarnock on behalf of East Ayrshire Council, the £25m Ayr Academy and the £35m redevelopment of Marr College for South Ayrshire Council, the £36m Garnock Campus for North Ayrshire Council and the £13m Caol Campus for The Highland Council.

Brian McQuade, managing director of Kier Construction Scotland, said: “In Scotland we are delivering major build projects across education, healthcare, commercial and retail sectors.

“We are also working on an exciting range of heritage projects, restoring some of the country’s most important landmarks for future generations to enjoy. Notably, we are managing the £25m restoration of the fire-damaged, world-renowned Mackintosh Building for Glasgow School of Art, where we are combining ancient heritage skills with modern engineering expertise.”

Kier is also set to start work next month on a £6.7m revamp of the A-listed Aberdeen Music Hall.

Shareholders are in line for a final dividend of 43p a share, to be paid on 2 December. That will lift the full-year payout by 17 per cent to 64.5p.

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