Keller "confident" in full-year growth after "excellent first half"

Keller Group PLC on Tuesday reported increased revenue and profit for its first half, and hiked its interim dividend by over 50%.

The London-based geotechnical specialist contractor said pretax profit increased 18% to £103.3 million in the first six months of 2026, from £87.4 million the year before. Operating profit rose 16% to £112.5 million from 97.3 million, while underlying operating profit increased 15%, or 17% at constant currency, to £117.9 million from £102.6 million.

Revenue increased 10%, or 11% at constant currency, to £1.61 billion from £1.46 billion. Keller cited its performance in North America, with this region benefitting from "record volume and profit growth, underpinned by significant demand for infrastructure and data centre projects." North America revenue rose 17% at CER to £984.4 million, while underlying operating profit increased 18% at CER to £93.8 million.

Keller declared an interim dividend of 28.7 pence per share for the period, up 57% from 18.3p the year before.

"I am delighted to report an excellent first half that reflects the group's strong operational execution and continued commercial discipline," commented Chief Executive Officer James Wroath. "Our teams around the world have delivered an outstanding performance with record revenue and profit growth in North America, our largest division.

"We are building further momentum, with a record order book of [GBP1.9 billion, up from £1.6 billion one year prior] demonstrating the benefits of our geographic and sector diversification. This also clearly illustrates our ability to capitalise on megatrends, such as recent increased investment in infrastructure and data centres."

Looking ahead, Keller remains "confident" that its full-year performance will be in line with "recently upgraded market expectations," citing analyst consensus of £3.34 billion in revenue and £242 million in underlying operating profit.

Previously, in early July, Keller had forecast results "materially" ahead of then-current market expectations of £3.15 billion in revenue and £223 million in underlying operating profit. It had reported revenue of £3.09 billion and underlying operating profit of £218.2 million for 2025.

"Looking ahead, we are well positioned to deliver another strong performance through the remainder of 2026 and beyond," Wroath said.

Keller shares traded 1.2% higher at 3,086.00p on Tuesday afternoon in London.

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