Kier announces Anglian Water contracts, positive trading update

15th May 2014 10:28

The share price of Kier rose on Thursday after the construction, services and property group was named as a preferred bidder on two new long-term Anglian Water contracts and gave an positive update on third-quarter trading.Kier has been selected to deliver Anglian Water's AMP6 Integrated Metering and Developer Services (IMDS) contract, valued at up to £12m a year. This is expected to be formally awarded in the summer.It has also been selected as one of the three contractors to deliver Anglian Water's Integrated Operational Solutions (IOS), worth around £70m over five years, with an extension to 10 years possible.Together, the contracts have a combined total value of up to £130m for Kier."These contract awards demonstrate how our acquisition of May Gurney last year has enhanced Kier's capabilities and strengthened our offering to clients," said Kier's Finance Director Haydn Mursell.Trading "remains on course"In a separate statement, Kier said that its underlying trading performance since the start of 2014 (representing its fiscal third quarter) "remains on course".The company noted an improving UK construction market, having secured over £500m of new contracts. There is also a "strong pipeline of opportunities" in the overseas construction industry.The services division, meanwhile, performed well with an order book of around £3.5bn, which continues to provide long-term revenue visibility. Kier said it has all of the forecast revenue secured for the current financial year and over 80% already secured or probable for next year.In property, the business maintained its pipeline in excess of £1bn for property development, Kier said.The stock was 3% higher at 1,695p by 10:34.BC