Ibstock and Michelmersh both say falling confidence blighting sales

Brickwork firm Ibstock said revenue was down 10% in the first four months of the year as wet weather and the ongoing slowdown in UK residential put the brakes on sales.

In a trading update this morning, the firm said income had only begun to pick up in April with a single digit year-on-year improvement which it added has continued into May.

But the rise wasn’t enough to prevent income falling 10% in the first four months of the year with Ibstock pushing through a price rise in February.

ibstock site 2

The wet weather earlier this year and falling consumer confidence continueto plague brickwork firms’ sales

The firm said it was still on track “to deliver a full year outturn broadly in line with current market consensus expectations” but broker Investec said it “would not be surprised to see FY26 consensus EBITDA cuts of c.4-7% on the weaker macro outlook”.

Meanwhile, Investec said it also expected another brickmaker, Michelmersh, “see FY26 consensus EBITDA edge back a bit on a weaker macro outlook”.

In an update this morning, Michelmersh said it was managing its order book which was running ahead of its manufacturing capacity.

But it added: “As with the prior year, our commercial challenge remains predicting the timing of brick and pre-fabricated product despatches due to low consumer confidence and the associated uncertainty in construction project commencement dates.

“There are well documented challenges in our sector, due principally to a lack of confidence for consumers and their affordability concerns, which is impacting all areas of construction activity and the predictability of a sustained market recovery.”

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