Firm warns resi and RMI sectors still operating below par

Brickmaker Ibstock said revenue last year edged up 2% to £372m in a trading update this morning.

The firm said the figure was a “solid performance in progressively more challenging market conditions”.

It added: “Performance during Q4 benefitted from cost reduction action and stable pricing.”

ibstock site 2

Ibstock said recovery in the housing market is only expected to start in the second half of this year

The firm said it had closed its Forticrete roofing business, selling several of its sites as well as surplus land.

But it said any meaningful recovery would not place until the second half of this year. It added: “Residential construction and RMI markets [are] expected to remain subdued in the near-term with an anticipation of some modest year-on-year volume growth expected in H2 as markets recover.”

The firm is due to release its annual results on 5 March.

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