Niche focus brings continued growth for Keltbray

For the year ending 31st October 2016, Keltbray generated turnover up 36% to £369.4m (2015: £272.3m). Profit before tax more than doubled to £23.6m (2015: £10.4m).

Keltbray Group now directly employs around 1,300 people across its three business divisions: Demolition & Civil Engineering, Rail and Environmental Materials Management.

Demolition & Civil Engineering (D&C) turned over £248m, up 23% from 2015. This was largely driven by the Piling businesses and Keltbray Environmental Solutions. In August 2016 the reinforced concrete structures business named Keltbray Structures was launched and has boosted Keltbray’s service offering and geographical reach, particularly in Scotland.

Turnover in the Rail division, active in overhead line electrification, was up 85% to £100m. After many rail projects were put on hold by the industry in 2015, this business stream regained its projected growth in 2016 by securing frameworks and long-term contracts for Crossrail, Great Western Mainline and Network Rail, although the sector margins remain challenging due to budgetary pressures, Keltbray said.

Environmental Materials Management had 2016 turnover of £21.4m, up 30% from 2015. Key contracts secured included the treatment of construction waste from the Thames Tideway Tunnel and remediation works at the Timberyard Deptford and Crossness Sewage Treatment Works

Chief executive Brendan Kerr said: “We remain focused on continuing to build on our expertise as a specialist contractor which employs, manages and trains our own people. Our goal is to continue to provide an increasingly integrated portfolio of services and invest in our own high-value specialist plant capability. These results reflect this strategy and the large and sometimes very complex technical contracts undertaken in the year, which have a higher risk profile, but provide a higher potential for providing a return in line with the investment we are making to enable us to self-perform these contracts.

“While enquiries started to slow down towards the end of the year and the impact of Brexit remains uncertain, we do expect turnover to increase further in 2017, albeit at a slower pace. The outlook across the group is encouraging and last year we invested more than £15m in new demolition, piling, rail and structures plant with improved safety features to position ourselves for further growth.”

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