Forterra announce solid half-year results
Company reports increase in sales and pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June 2018
FORTERRA plc, one of the UK’s leading producers of manufactured masonry products, have reported a 10.6% increase in revenue, to £180.0 million, for the six months ended 30 June 2018. The company attributed the increase in sales to the Bison acquisition in the second half of 2017, higher aircrete block volumes and price increases applied to offset cost inflation.
Pre-tax profit in the first half of 2018 was £32.3 million, which was 2.9% ahead of the same period in 2017, due to a good performance from bricks and blocks and a lower finance cost, whilst EBITDA for the first six months was up 1.3% to £39.2 million. Good cash flow performance resulted in further reduction of net debt to £51.9 million at 30 June 2018, representing 0.7 times the last 12 months’ EBITDA.
Stephen Harrison, chief executive officer, commented: ‘The Group delivered a solid performance in the first half, supported by a good result from the brick and block product lines. Continued levels of activity from the new-build single-unit residential market lead us to anticipate a brick and block performance in line with our expectations for the second half.’
He added: ‘The outlook for bespoke products is predicated on the expected recovery of precast sales and the conversion of the order book into deliveries as that segment of the market recovers. As a result we anticipate the Group’s profit before tax for the full year to be in line with the board’s expectations.’
