Inflation stemming from Middle East war will mean full-year results weighted to second-half

Brickmaker Forterra saw its revenue hit due to “challenging” trading conditions in the first months of the year.

In a trading update published ahead of its AGM today, the group revealed that revenue in the four months to 30 April 2026 was down 11% on last year on a like-for-like basis, adjusting for the closure of the group’s non-core business in the second half of 2025.

forterra

The firm said there had been “some improvement following the particularly wet start to the year”, but that overall demand for bricks had been suppressed.

It pointed to Department for Business and Trade data showing an 11% reduction in domestic industry brick despatches in the first quarter relative to the prior year.

Forterra said its market share remained in line with the levels seen towards the end of 2025.

The business implemented price increases “sufficient to recover the levels of cost inflation envisaged at the time”, but said the Middle East crisis had created additional cost inflation “driven by significant increases in the cost of diesel, transport services and natural gas”. 

While it said its forward purchasing of gas had mitigated these increases somewhat, it has rescheduled some production from April to the second half of the year to manage these costs.

This will likely increase the second half weighting of its full-year results.

Forterra has implemented surcharges on its concrete products in response to additional cost inflation, with brick pricing surcharges to take effect from the start of June. 

“Whilst events in the Middle East and the associated macro-economic and supply chain risks do not appear to have materially impacted demand for our products to date, we remain mindful as to the potential impact of higher borrowing costs on demand for housing and therefore our products,” it said.

“With the elevated uncertainty we presently face, forecasting how the second half of the year will evolve has become more challenging, leading to a greater range of potential full year outcomes than previously anticipated.”