Kier Share Discussion Threads

[marksp2011] 06/12/2024 14:19

I take it there is nothing visible that has generated this?

[stdyeddy] 06/12/2024 13:32

We're at 10 times the daily volume traded here today even with another 2.5 hours to go, and the 8% rise in the share price almost puts KIE on ADVFN's top ten leaderboard. Something's happening here.

MAYBE it's Keir Starmer's pledge yesterday to triple the number of infrastructure projects in the next year. Maybe. But there's some serious stake-building going on and the business is seriously undervalued compared to peers. Could be a bid is in the offing. GFRD is actually down, MGNS is up a mere 0.26%, COST is up 2.4%. The main index is flat. £15m of Kier bought today so far. In five years, I've not seen this level of interest in Kier without a major company announcement, and so far there's nothing.

[itisonlymoney] 06/12/2024 12:12

Keir for Kier. 😊

[richsawko] 06/12/2024 09:45

Good momentum today pushing through 150p

[stdyeddy] 05/12/2024 11:46

We could do if you would be more accurate. The Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) is UNDRAWN. It's there if Kier needs it, but at year end Kier was using NONE of it. Avg monthly debt is about £110m and the cash balance is around £400m (ie a lot more cash than debt).

[marksp2011] 05/12/2024 10:55

Committed debt facilities at 30 June 2024 of c.£548m
Refinancing completed in February 2024
Debt structure in place:
 £250m Senior Loan Notes due February 2029
 £261m RCF extension: £150m from January 2025 to
March 2027
 £37m USPP Notes due January 2025
 £400m of facilities post January 2025 to support long term
sustainable growth plan

As of January 2025 there will be £400M facilities.

250M is strategic and is due in 2029
150M RCF and it is the drawings on this "overdraft" that are being paid down.

can we leave it at that please?

[stdyeddy] 05/12/2024 10:17

Rankings for contract wins just published by Construction Enquirer; Kier is in second place for the rolling 12 months, behind Morgan Sindall, and catching up fast.

[stdyeddy] 05/12/2024 10:09

wolly/bathboy, this is a straight-up lie from you and one you've put on here several times. The annual report details borrowings and cash. On 30 June this yr, the business had cash of £461m and borrowings of £300m. The borrowings include the £250m bond issued a year or two ago; this matures in 2029. NET CASH amounted to £167m, including £6m in currency hedging.

Incidentally, Kier reduced its debts by over £100m in just one year AND bought Buckingham Group's rail business in the same year. In January, Kier will likely reduce debt by yet another £100m AND pay an increased dividend for this year.

Regarding the payment of a dividend; Kier promised to reinstate a dividend once it had clear 'line of sight' for a sustainable net cash position. The business has a solid cash base and is justifiably returning cash to investors who have backed its recovery.

[bathboy2] 05/12/2024 05:19

The packaged debt of circa 500mn , is still there , which is where a lot of the 32mn is going , better they had reduced rather than slightly raised the packaged debt to pay the dividends, day to day money/debt may be reducing, but it's a long way to go to be totally free of the shackles

[blueclyde] 03/12/2024 19:51

Was just reading the accounts, here are a couple of thoughts. Finance costs were 32 million vs profit before tax of 118 million. If the company achieves a month end cash position should that mean that finance cost could be done away with and go straight to the profits. The property division made 6 million. If ROCE returns to the level they are projecting that would be 18 million profit at 15 percent ROCE. None of this includes just general growth and profit margin expansion. Guess what I am saying is there looks to be numerous ways for profits and therefore dividends to quickly expand from here? Also the rate cash is being built up could equate to 20p a share also per year? With current market cap and cash of 167 million means 25 percent of market cap is cash currently?

[stutes] 02/12/2024 10:15

The ISG collapse should be investigated and new laws enacted to make directors liable for financial losses when it comes to including turnover relating to claims.

[itisonlymoney] 29/11/2024 15:40

Kier bags £23m Cheadle Eco Business park job



The Stockport council-owned site is to be redeveloped into an exemplar, carbon efficient 110,000 sq ft industrial development.

The 7-acre site lies close to the M60 between Stockport and Cheadle and currently comprises hard standing and older, inefficient industrial buildings.

Kier will deliver six light industrial units, from 10,000 to 40,000 sq ft at the Bird Hall Lane site. Architect AEW has designed the project to target BREEAM Outstanding and align with Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standards.

The scheme is being supported by the £4.4m grant secured through the Government Town Fund.

[blueclyde] 29/11/2024 13:27

There is a definite pattern of higher lows on the chart so this may be the next leg up.

[johnrxx99] 28/11/2024 04:51

To add, it's doing about the same contract wins as MGNS but nowhere near share price movemnent. I can see this doubling over the next year or two. DYOR

[itisonlymoney] 27/11/2024 16:56

dvidend cover on the current payout is 4 times and kier management said they will payout at three times cover, so the divi should go up significantly. half yr for kier ends on 31 Dec so we should see a trading update in mid january and possibly the increased interim divi then. govt has said it intends to build and kier wins in all the big areas. one thing that's different, they had a housing business which they sold off, so are now less exposed to the housing downturn, bcause kier is mainly civil construction. i think they might be getting lumped in with the housebuilders so that might be what's weighing on the shareprice, plus the market hasn't completely forgiven kier for getting into so much debt in 2017/8 even though they've completely rebuilt the financial base of the business. it's a hidden gem imv. as you can see from my posts, i've been bullish for a good while. as you suggest, if the market continues to ignore kier, someone will make a bid for it. It'll probably be the Australians, who seem to like to buy up UK infrastructure.

[blueclyde] 27/11/2024 16:01

Thanks. It does look very undervalued. Based on how much cash it is generating and how quickly the month end debt has came down. Should mean big dividends are on the way going forwards. I guess if the market does not move upwards then private equity will have a crack at it with the turn around almost complete. I do not see how this does not do well over the next few months with the new infrastructure spending announced ect and competition being forced out.

[itisonlymoney] 27/11/2024 15:36

market cap was about £1.2bn in 2017 when the shareprice was £12.75 or thereabouts. Revenue and profit were similar to now, about £4bn and a margin of a little over 3%. the firm had net debt of £110m in 2017 due to all the companies it had bought, whereas now it has net cash of £165m, so you could maybe add £275m to that £1.2bn market cap. kier is underappreciated by the market atm by at least 100% but perhaps 140%. current market cap is £662m, about half what it was in 2017.

[blueclyde] 27/11/2024 15:05

When this was circa 15 pounds a share in 2017 what was the market cap then? Trying to work out what the potential upside could be as the rights issue has affected things. But the amount of cash they are generating currently makes this look very cheap, particularly when all the debt is gone in the next year.

[stdyeddy] 26/11/2024 12:50

This looks like another big project win for Kier:

KIER IN LINE FOR £70M BISHOP’S STORTFORD TOWN CENTRE JOB



Expected to cost over £70m to build the development will include 145 new homes, alongside nearly 40,000 sq ft of retail and office space.

[stutes] 25/11/2024 12:27

Construction firms need to boost margin rather than accept 3% to 4% is the norm. Risk needs to be fairly priced and rewarded.

[itisonlymoney] 25/11/2024 12:03

More framework wins for Kier today.

Kier and Bam star in two Welsh frameworks worth £1.4bn

The firms pulled off double awards securing major project slots on both the £600m NHS Building for Wales 2 and £800m South West Wales Regional Contractors Framework.

[stdyeddy] 20/11/2024 13:49

Another new contract:
KIER ADDS FIVE-YEAR M&E CONTRACT TO SWELLING ORDERBOOK



Kier has been appointed by Cambridgeshire County Council to provide building, mechanical and electrical (M&E) maintenance services to the local authority’s portfolio of 160 corporate buildings across its county-wide estate.

[stdyeddy] 18/11/2024 16:03

Contract rankings from Construction Enquirer just out -- Kier is second only to Morgan Sindall for the rolling twelve months and is catching up. Kier beat MGNS last month for contract wins in October, and came in 4th for that month. Kier's rolling 12-month total contract wins are valued at £2.195bn.