Keller Group PLC on Monday said it was selected to undertake work on a ‘prestigious’ project in Saudi Arabia and saw ‘strong’ trading in the first half of the year.

Ahead of the announcement of its interim results - for the six months that ended on June 26 and scheduled for August 2 - the geotechnical contractor said it has been chosen to work on the NEOM Giga project in the Tabuk province of north west Saudi Arabia.

Keller said it has signed an umbrella framework agreement to participate in the construction project. The company said the first element of the project is The Line, which is a 170-kilometre-long ’mega-city’, starting in the west at the Gulf of Aqaba and terminating at the NEOM International Airport within the upper valley region.

The Line is subdivided into 135 modules. Keller will first work on a portion of Module 40, which has an expected value to the London-based company of around £50 million.

Turning to financial performance, Keller said trading was as anticipated in the first half of the year, and the board’s expectations for the full year remain unchanged.

Its order book also ‘continues to strengthen in terms of volume and quality’ and is expected to be around £1.5 billion at the half year point, Keller said.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Speakman said: ‘Our delivery in line with our first half expectations, and the group’s record and growing £1.5 billion orderbook provides confidence for our performance in the second half and delivering on our expectations for the full year. Our involvement in the prestigious NEOM project, together with a number of recent infrastructure and LNG contract wins, evidences the diversity and inherent resilience of the group across the macroeconomic cycle.’

Keller also announced it will pay an interim dividend of 13.2 pence per share, up 4.8% from 12.6p a year ago.

The board also will consider an increase to the final dividend in 2022, as part of its return to a progressive dividend policy, as well as review other options for capital returns. Keller had declared a final dividend of 23.3p for 2021, leaving the total payout for the year unchanged from 2020 at 35.9p.

Looking ahead, Keller said it expects 2022 to be a year of growth, and full-year performance will have its customary second half weighting.

Keller shares were up 2.6% at 718.00 each on Monday morning in London.

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