Forterra report strong revenue growth in 2018
Sustained strength of new-build residential market results in double-digit increase in sales
FORTERRA plc, one of the UK’s leading producers of manufactured masonry products, have announced an 11% increase in revenue to £367.5 million for the year ended 31 December 2018 (2017: £331.0 million), largely the reflecting the sustained strength of the new-build residential market
EBITDA was up £3.4 million (4.5%) to £78.8 million due to a strong performance in Bricks and Blocks, whilst pre-tax profit rose 9.3% to £64.8 million (2017: £59.3 million). Strong cash flow performance resulted in a further reduction in net debt to £38.8 million at 31 December 2018 (2017: £60.8 million), representing 0.5 times EBITDA.
Stephen Harrison, Forterra’s chief executive officer, commented: ‘2018 was a year of good progress for the Group, with a strong performance from the Bricks and Blocks businesses and the integration of Bison gaining traction following a slow start. We also approved a £95 million investment to build a new brick-manufacturing facility that will increase our existing capacity by 16%.
‘Trading in the current year has been in line with our expectations. The improvement in productivity seen at Bison Precast in the last quarter has been sustained into the first two months of 2019 and the business is performing well.
‘Whilst we are watchful of the impact of the current political and economic uncertainty on our end markets, the board remains confident that the business is well positioned to take advantage of the attractive market fundamentals in order to continue delivering sustainable shareholder value.’
