Keller Group (LON:KLR) reported what management described as an “outstanding” set of record full-year results for 2025, citing operational and commercial improvements across the business despite what it called a mixed market backdrop and a translational foreign-exchange headwind.
Chief Executive James Wroath, appointed last August, said the group’s performance was underpinned by geographic diversity, “sector agility,” and resilience. He highlighted North America’s outperformance versus the wider U.S. construction market, continued improvement in Europe and the Middle East, and sustained progress in Asia-Pacific. The company also reported a strengthened balance sheet, robust free cash flow, a move to a net cash position for the first time in 25 years, and increased shareholder returns through a higher dividend and an expanded share buyback plan.
Record results and divisional performance
Burke said North America declined year-over-year as expected, with other divisions “more than making up” the shortfall. He attributed the North American profit decline largely to Suncoast, which is exposed to the U.S. residential market. He said Suncoast’s year-over-year pricing differential reflected an unusually strong first half of 2024 that did not repeat in 2025, while lower volumes reflected what he described as a trough in residential activity.
Within North America, Burke said the foundations business was down on a very strong 2024, but performed better than management had expected at the outset of the year as margins held up despite tighter competition. He also pointed to a strong year from the combined Moretrench RECON business, helped by favorable weather and a sizable LNG project on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Europe and the Middle East delivered a year-over-year operating profit increase of GBP 30.7 million versus 2024, which Burke described as a low base. He said performance benefited from contract issues in the Middle East not repeating and from operational improvement across Europe, with the exception of the U.K. He added that Keller is winding out operations in Mauritius and Seychelles beginning in 2026.
In APAC, management said performance remained solid, with Austral and India highlighted as key contributors to growth. Burke noted that 2024 APAC results were helped by a profit on a property sale, and said 2025 margin performance was “impressive” in that context.
Earnings, dividend, and buybacks
Burke said net finance costs were broadly flat and largely represented the outlay on fixed U.S. private placement debt, while the effective tax rate was 23%, similar to the prior year. Underlying earnings per share increased 5.7% to 211.3 pence, which management attributed to improved profitability and the impact of share buybacks.
The board proposed a final dividend of 52.1 pence, bringing the total dividend for the year to 70.4 pence, an increase of 41.6% versus 2024. Management said Keller has maintained or grown its dividend each year since its stock market listing, describing this as a 31-year record.
Keller also expanded its buyback plans. After announcing two GBP 25 million tranches in 2025, the company disclosed a further intended GBP 100 million buyback to be executed in 2026.
Cash generation and balance sheet
Free cash flow for 2025 was GBP 175.9 million, according to Burke, who said capital expenditure remained around depreciation levels. He noted that working capital movements were influenced by a higher level of advance payments on a couple of contracts in 2024 compared to 2025. Cash tax payments fell due to a change in U.S. tax treatment for R&D credits, allowing a full in-year deduction.
The group ended the year in a net cash position on an IAS 17 covenant basis, with Burke citing GBP 59.7 million of net cash. He said cash generation supported the move to net cash “despite the outlay on share buybacks,” and described the group’s funding position as comfortable, with around GBP 730 million of headroom.
Wroath also addressed the current conflict in the Middle East, stating that Keller’s priority is the safety of employees and their families, and that all staff are accounted for and safe. He added that the Middle East represents less than 5% of group revenue and profit.
Strategy, markets, and capital allocation framework
Wroath said his first six months in the role have focused on visiting operations across APAC, Europe, the Middle East, and North America to understand Keller’s culture and strengths. He credited prior leadership with embedding a “commercial mindset and contract discipline,” integrating past acquisitions, and investing in systems and processes to reinforce margin delivery and execution.
Both Wroath and Burke emphasized the role of local market share in driving earnings, describing Keller’s markets as highly local and fragmented. Wroath said prior strategy work identified more than 1,000 potential acquisition targets in the U.S. alone, but stressed that Keller is taking time to assess where acquisitions could best accelerate growth. Burke reiterated that the company is focused on selective bolt-on deals and said there was a pipeline but “no imminent purchase.”
The board reviewed capital allocation following the move to net cash, maintaining a leverage target range of 0.5x to 1.5x. Burke said the company adopted an enhanced dividend policy with a target cover range of 2.5x to 3.5x, with 2025 dividends covered around 3x compared to 4x in 2024.
In Q&A, management highlighted several market themes:
- U.S. end markets: Wroath said bidding activity is seeing an uptick in infrastructure and public spending, while residential remains weaker. Burke said the company saw no reason it could not repeat North America’s 2025 performance in 2026, although early-year weather had affected activity.
- Suncoast pricing: Burke said pricing normalized after the first-half 2024 boom, and future improvement would likely depend more on volume, which management said could be influenced by U.S. rate cuts. He added the company was not assuming significant profitability uplift from a residential rebound in its 2026 forecasting.
- Germany: Wroath said Keller had not yet seen an impact from anticipated infrastructure spending discussions, though he said the company is positioned for large infrastructure opportunities.
Project examples and outlook
Wroath used project case studies to illustrate Keller’s engineering-led approach and ability to deploy techniques across geographies. He discussed a project in Luleå, Sweden, where Keller’s team developed what he described as a more cost-effective, lower-carbon solution by combining techniques including vibro compaction, vibro stone columns, dynamic compaction, and wet soil mixing alongside concrete piles in the heaviest load areas.
He also highlighted data centers as an area of growing demand linked to AI and high-powered computing, while noting that many of these are smaller contracts. Wroath said around 90% of Keller’s global contracts in 2025 were valued at less than GBP 1 million, representing about 30% of revenue. He added that Keller completed 120 data center projects in North America in 2025, contributing more than GBP 100 million of group revenue.
Looking ahead, Wroath said Keller enters the new financial year with a high-quality order book, healthy tendering activity, a strong balance sheet, and what he called a clear strategic direction. While noting macroeconomic uncertainty, he said most markets are robust and bidding activity remains healthy, supported by structural drivers such as infrastructure investment, population growth, energy transition, climate resilience, and new technology adoption. The company plans to provide more detail on its growth strategy at a capital markets event in the second half of the year.
About Keller Group (LON:KLR)
Keller Group plc provides specialist geotechnical services in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers ground improvement services, grouting, deep foundations, earth retention, marine, and instrumentation and monitoring services, as well as post-tension systems and industrial services. It also provides solutions, such as bearing capacity improvement, low carbon construction, containment, excavation support, stabilisation, marine structures, seepage control, slope stabilization, and monitoring.
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