Keller confident of meeting expectations

19th May 2009 07:46

Engineer Keller Group is seeing little sign of any benefit from the fiscal stimulus measures implemented by various governments, but remains on target to produce full-year results in line with market expectations.‘Whilst we have experienced a shift towards more publicly-financed projects, we have not as yet felt any noticeable impact from promised fiscal stimulus measures and we do not anticipate that these will benefit the group before 2010,’ the company said in a statement released to coincide with its Annual General Meeting.The group’s US business is relying more heavily on public infrastructure and power-related projects, and is seeing a tightening of margins due to increase competition.In Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia (CEMEA) performance has been ‘somewhat mixed’.Trading in the Middle East has been particularly affected by lengthening of lead times on large contracts, though the group said profit from the region this financial year has been good.The order book in Eastern Europe remains well above the level it was at this time last year, but some projects have experienced delays and the region is seeing much higher levels of competition from neighbouring markets.Elsewhere in Europe trading has held up ‘fairly well’, the company said, despite poor weather in the first quarter.The Australian business has performed well but in the UK further downsizing has been necessary as the housing market remains in the doldrums.The company’s chairman, Dr. Michael West, is stepping down from the position he has occupied since 1995 to be succeeded by Roy Franklin, who joined the board as a non-executive director in 2007.