Keller Group PLC on Tuesday announced a higher dividend and profit surge as it anticipates to sharply beat market expectations amid a buoyant North American market.

The London-based geotechnical engineering company said pretax profit surged to £95.3 million in the first half of 2024 from £43.1 million a year prior.

Revenue climbed 1.6% to £1.49 billion from £1.47 billion. Keller’s order book edged up to £1.6 billion from £1.5 billion. Net cash inflow from operating activities jumped to £118.9 million from £35.3 million.

‘We maintained our focus on sustainable markets and attractive projects and the results reflect both the strength of the group’s presence in the buoyant North American market and our continuous groupwide emphasis on improving project execution and delivery,’ Keller said.

The company declared an interim dividend of 16.6 pence per share, up 19% from 13.9p a year prior.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Speakman said Keller now expects its performance for 2024 to be materially ahead of current market expectations, citing an analyst consensus of £178 million for underlying operating profit, with a range of £176 million to GP179 million.

In 2023, underlying operating profit was £180.9 million.

‘The current macroeconomic environment presents opportunities, particularly in North America, albeit there are challenges in some of our other markets. The strength of the group’s performance, together with the quality of our record £1.6 billion order book, provides us with increased confidence in the outlook for the rest of this year,’ Keller said.

Keller shares rose 8.6% to 1,496.00 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

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