Kier Group sees strong order book for 2015

July 2 (Reuters) - Kier Group Plc (LSE: KIE.L - news) said its construction business had an order book equivalent to about 90 percent of anticipated revenue for 2015, backed by a strong recovery in building activity in Britain.

Order book of secured or probable work at its construction unit, which accounts for more than 65 percent of total revenue, was about 2.6 billion pounds ($4.42 billion) for the year ending June 30, 2015, Kier said in a statement.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the FTSE-250 company were up about 5 percent at 1872 pence in early trading, making them the top percentage gainers on the index on Wednesday.

"The contract win rate is impressive, the pipeline is strong and there are signs that risks are reducing," analysts at Liberum said in a note to clients.

The analysts, who have a "buy" rating on Kier's stock with a price target of 1915 pence, said they would buy the stock ahead of the company's investor day on Thursday, where Kier is expected to give details about its 2020 target.

Kier, whose activities range from building power stations to providing outsourcing for local councils, also said its underlying performance for the year ended June 30 remained on track.

The company bought infrastructure and maintenance company May Gurney last April for 221 million pounds, broadening its scope of services. ($1 = 0.5877 British Pounds) (Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)