Shares of Keller Group surged as much as 15% to an all-time high on Tuesday after the global geotechnical contractor signalled that full-year profits will be materially higher than market expectations. Management attributed the upgrade to an acceleration in trading during the second quarter, with North America leading the improvement.
The company now expects both 2026 revenue and underlying operating profit to finish materially ahead of current market consensus, reflecting a faster-than-anticipated pace of work in its largest division. Keller said the North American business experienced record volumes and a sizable increase in infrastructure and data centre projects that more than offset a slowdown in the residential segment.
Executives pointed to multiple data centre and infrastructure contracts where clients placed a premium on timely, high-quality delivery of technically complex work. That demand profile supported elevated activity levels across the U.S. and Canada during the period.
The recent upgrade follows an AGM trading update issued on May 20 in which the company said trading was in line with expectations. Since that update, Keller said trading momentum has picked up noticeably.
Outside North America, the company reported continued robust trading in its Europe and Middle East division. Strong performances in Scandinavia, central Europe and the Middle East helped offset persistently weak conditions in the UK market. In Asia Pacific, overall results were broadly in line with management expectations - momentum carried over from 2025 largely counterbalanced pricing pressure in the Australian residential market, though activity levels there remained strong.
Keller also highlighted that tendering activity across its group stayed buoyant and that its order book had reached a record level of about 1.9 billion, supported by a significant infrastructure contract. The company said this combination of stronger trading and a record order book underpins the more optimistic outlook for the full year.
Approximately 60% of Keller's revenue comes from North America, and the company described the division as delivering "exceptional performance across the U.S. and Canada so far this year." Management said the results reflected Keller's ability to identify structural megatrends and pivot toward subsectors with pronounced customer demand, driving business growth.
On the balance sheet, Keller reported that cash generation and the overall balance sheet position remain strong. Current company-compiled consensus forecasts for the year ending Dec. 31, 2026 stand at 3.15 billion in revenue and 223 million in underlying operating profit; Keller said it now expects both measures to come in materially ahead of those figures.
Analyst note - The share price reaction followed the formal upward revision to 2026 expectations and the disclosure of record order book levels. Investors will likely watch subsequent trading updates for confirmation that higher North American volumes and the sizeable infrastructure contract translate into sustained outperformance versus consensus.