Sales and profit at building supplies company Ibstock has continued to fall as “exceptionally wet weather” badly affected the construction industry.
The London-listed firm, which is headquartered in Leicestershire, saw its revenue drop 20 per cent to £178m in the first six months of 2024, down from £223m last year.
Ibstock said this decrease was largely down to lower market demand, exacerbated by the wet weather earlier this year.
Its pre-tax profit also took a hit, falling to £12m during the period compared to last year’s £30m.
Ibstock’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) also took a hit, falling to £38m from £63m the previous year.
The company said this reflected its lower sales volumes and the burden of extra fixed costs incurred to maintain production capacity.
Ibstock boss hails ‘solid profit’
CEO Joe Hudson said: “Market conditions remained challenging in the first half, as expected, with sales volumes below those reported in the comparative period.
“We delivered a solid profit performance for the period which reflected our ongoing focus on the active management of cost and margin.
“Lead indicators point to an improving sector picture, and although we are taking a cautious view of the extent to which this will translate into a demand improvement in the balance of the year, we expect adjusted EBITDA for the second half of the 2024 year to be broadly in line with the comparative period in 2023.
“The new government’s commitment to increasing the supply of new homes creates a more positive backdrop for medium term demand, and the group remains well-positioned for market recovery.
“Our investments over the last few years have added high quality, lower cost, efficient and more sustainable capacity to our network and developed new capabilities for the group in diversified construction markets, while also creating a leaner, more customer-focused business.
“We believe this will be a powerful combination as market conditions improve. The fundamental drivers underpinning demand in our markets are firmly in place and our prospects remain strong, underpinned by our robust balance sheet.”