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Underlying pre-tax profit was down 9% to £63.4m for the year to 30 June 2013

Revenue for the year was down 4% at £1,983m (2012: £2,069m). ÌýThis was mostly due to the 5% fall in Construction revenues, down to £1,308m (2012: £1,384m). The board attributed this to poor weather in the first three months of 2013, pushing revenues into the 2014 financial year.

Construction margins remained ‘resilient’, the company said, at 2.3% (2012: 2.5%).

Significant project wins during the year include the Mersey Gateway Bridge, Broadmoor Hospital re-development, securing the re-development rights to the Swan Hunter shipyards on Tyneside and more than £200m of housing maintenance awards.

The biggest deal of the year, however, was the £221m acquisition of May Gurney, boosting order books to £5.9bn (£4bn excluding May Gurney).

There were £17m of exceptional items charged to the balance sheet, including £12m costs for restructuring the Construction division and closing the scaffolding, joinery and temporary electrical businesses. There was a £3.2m charge relating to the disposal of the tower crane business to PC Harrington’s HTC, comprising the loss on disposal of some of the fixed assets together with transaction and redundancy costs.

Chief executive Paul Sheffield was happy that the business had met expectations for the year. He said: “The modest decline in revenue and profit reflects the tough trading conditions the industry has faced during the year, but I am delighted to see that the divisional trading results remain robust. Margins in Construction and Services were resilient and our Property division again made a strong contribution.

Ìý"The acquisition of May Gurney in July 2013 creates a support services business with revenues in excess of £1bn and provides an excellent platform for growth. The integration and interaction with key clients are both proceeding well and the combination of the two businesses will deliver significant synergies.

"After nearly five years of recessionary pressure, we are seeing positive signs of improvement in all our principal businesses, which gives rise to cautious optimism that the economy is recovering."

Kier Group's financials: Year to 30 June 2013