Increased North American construction boosts Keller

- Boosted by an rise in US construction and housing activity- Full-year profit surges, margins improve- Expects 2014 to be another strong yearFTSE 250 ground engineering specialist Keller reported a robust set of full-year results, as North American housing and construction activity blossomed, and it expects 2014 to be another strong year. Pre-tax profit jumped 70% to £74.1m for the year ended December 31st, while revenue increased 9% to £1.4bn. Not including the effects of acquisitions and foreign exchange movements, revenue rose by 2%. Revenue from its North America business, the group's largest, advanced to £699.4m from £581.9m a year earlier.Keller, which acquired Toronto based Geo-Foundations in January and South African engineering business Esorfranki Geotechnical in November, said earnings per share climbed to 73.0p from 45.9p.Operating margins improved in all four of its divisions after improving market conditions in some of its markets and a strong performance on several major projects. Looking ahead Chief Executive Justin Atkinson said: "We expect to see a continuation of the gradual improvement in certain of our markets, notably in the US. However, most of our European markets are expected to remain subdued and we anticipate that the current uncertain market conditions in Australia will continue for some time.Atkinson added that despite the adverse impact of foreign exchange movements and the extreme weather conditions in North America in the first two months of the year, it expects 2014 to be another year of progress. The group is offering a total dividend per share of 24.0p, up 5% from 22.8p in 2012.Year-end net debt was £143.7m compared to £51.2m the year before. CJ Keller