Debt down to less than 拢50m after being close to 拢550m at one stage
Kier has continued to make inroads into its debt pile with the firm saying average monthly debt fell below the 拢50m barrier in the first half of its new financial year.
The firm鈥檚 average month-end net debt at one stage stood at close to 拢550m but in a trading update this morning Kier said this had been hacked down to 拢38m from 拢137m for the same period last year.
Analysts have been expecting the contractor, which returned to the FTSE 250 list of the UK鈥檚 biggest quoted companies last year, to return to a net cash position by early 2026 at the latest.
Kier said that its strengthening balance sheet, which allowed it to make an annual dividend payment for the first time in six years last September, meant it has launched a 拢20m share buyback which chief executive Andrew Davies said was part of a policy to 鈥渕aximise shareholder returns鈥�.
The firm said its order book at the end of December was 拢11bn, a 2% increase on the year-end position at the end of June last year.
Davies added: 鈥淭he strength of our cash generation combined with the multi-year revenue visibility afforded by our growing quality order book and underpinned by our strong balance sheet, gives us the confidence that this momentum will continue.鈥�
The firm is due to release its interim results on 11 March.
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