I think it was Mark who raised Kier as an interesting and continuing recovery play some time ago. Not being one to believe anyone or anything I read on a forum I checked them out and opened with a £1k punt then topped up to £5k, a few months back. That <£5k is now worth £6,500 undoubtedly one of my biggest % winners of 2024 so far!
Thought KIE deserved its own thread on the day it announced results. No idea how the market will react but they are now in a net cash position and still improving steadily, with a full order book with the first dividend for a while as well.
https://www.lse.co.uk/rn...23-h77y7pquzgdci0u.html HY24 Highlights · Revenue growth and improved profitability driving material deleveraging
o Revenue growth of 23% driven by Infrastructure Services and Construction
o Adjusted operating profit increased 13% to £64.7m (HY23: £57.2m)
o Adjusted operating margin at 3.4%, in-line with the medium-term target
o Adjusted basic EPS: 8.7p (HY23: 8.5p), up 2%
o Reported profit from operations increased 15% to £44.1m (HY23: £38.3m)
o Free Cash Flow of £(7.9)m materially improved over the prior period (HY23 £(87.8)m) following a strong Q1 performance
o Net cash at period-end of £17.0m, significantly higher than prior period-end (HY23: net debt (£130.6m)
o Average month-end net debt materially reduced by £106.2m to £(136.5m)
· Resumption of dividends, with an interim dividend declared of 1.67p per share
· High quality order book, increased 6% to £10.7bn (FY23: £10.1bn) providing significant visibility
o 97% of expected FY24 revenue secured· Acquisition of Buckingham Group's rail assets fully integrated into the business and performing ahead of expectations as at the time of the transaction
· Successful refinancing post period-end providing long-term debt facilities and a strengthened maturity profile
· Sustainability strategy on track to deliver ESG targets
Andrew Davies, Chief Executive, said:"The past two and a half years have seen the Group achieve significant operational and financial progress and I am delighted that today marks a return to paying dividends. The first half has seen the Group deliver strong volume and profit growth, increased orders and material deleveraging. This is testament to the hard work and commitment of our people who have enhanced our resilience and strengthened our financial position in line with the objectives set out in our medium-term value creation plan. Our order book remains strong at £10.7bn and provides us with good, multi-year revenue visibility. The contracts within our order book reflect the bidding discipline and risk management now embedded in the business. I am also particularly pleased to report that the Group significantly improved upon its year-end net cash position with significantly lower average month-end net debt and has confidence in sustaining this momentum going forward.
The second half of the financial year has started well, and we are trading in-line with expectations. The Group is well positioned to continue benefiting from UK Government infrastructure spending commitments and we are confident in sustaining the strong cash generation achieved over the last 18 months, allowing us to continue to significantly deleverage the Group. We remain committed to delivering our medium-term value creation plan which will benefit all stakeholders."