LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Geotechnical specialist contractor Keller Group plc (KLR.L) Thursday said its first-quarter performance as a whole was better than the company expectations and materially better than the prior year.
Looking ahead, the company said it remains too early to provide earnings guidance in relation to the remainder of the current financial year.
Further, the company announced the sale of its Brazilian entity, Tecnogeo, and its successful exit from the Brazilian market. The sale is for a total cash consideration of 2.3 million pounds. The sale will result in a small non-underlying loss on disposal for the group. The company recently announced that it would make a phased withdrawal from South America.
In its trading update, the company said its trading for January and February, as announced earlier, was marginally above expectations. But as anticipated, a swift deterioration in activity was recorded during the second half of March due to national and regional restrictions on travel and work amid Covid-19.
The company said the March result was less impacted than expected.
Trading in April remains mixed, with APAC and EMEA currently impacted more than North America, which varies significantly by state. Order book in the near term remains largely unaffected.
Further, the company said its Board and senior management have taken a voluntary 20% reduction in fees and salary during the second quarter.
The company's Annual General Meeting, which was scheduled for May 21, has been postponed to June 30.
The group's proposed final dividend for 2019 of 27.4 pence per share, which was due to be paid on June 26, requires approval at the AGM. The company now said the approval of the dividend will also be postponed.
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