Ibstock PLC AGM Trading Update (8928Z)

TIDMIBST

RNS Number : 8928Z

Ibstock PLC

23 May 2019

Ibstock plc

AGM Trading Update

Ibstock plc ('Ibstock' or the 'Group'), a leading manufacturer of clay bricks and concrete products in the United Kingdom, provides a trading update for the four months ended 30 April 2019 ahead of its Annual General Meeting, which is to be held at 11:00am today at the offices of Ibstock plc, 54 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8HN.

Trading Update

The Group has made a solid start to the year, with underlying market conditions remaining stable despite ongoing political and economic uncertainty in the UK.

We have seen strong revenue growth in our clay brick business in the period, reflecting both the price rise implemented at the start of the year and incremental volume growth, including production from our new 100 million soft mud brick factory. Additionally, performance is against a softer prior year comparator where trading was impacted by adverse weather. As expected, cost inflation, primarily increased energy costs, and the impact of the enhanced maintenance programme has partly offset some of these benefits.

Our concrete business has continued to benefit from good demand from the new build housing market, including solid growth in roof tile revenues, underpinned by increasing volumes from recently launched new products. Activity in the broader RMI and infrastructure markets has been more subdued however, and this is contributing to lower demand for some of our concrete products.

Going forward, we intend to report results for our two UK divisions, clay brick and concrete, separately, for the purposes of segmental reporting.

Outlook

Market fundamentals in the UK remain robust, supporting the demand for new housing over the medium term, which should continue to underpin activity levels in both our clay brick and concrete businesses. Overall, our expectations for the full year are unchanged and the Board anticipates another year of progress for the Group. Performance is expected to be weighted towards the second half, in part reflecting the enhanced maintenance programme.

The Group's results for the six months ended 30 June 2019 will be announced on 31 July 2019.

Enquiries:

 
 Ibstock plc 
 Joe Hudson, CEO 
 Kevin Sims, CFO 
 Robert Coates, Investor Relations 
  Director                             07880 486329 
 
 Citigate Dewe Rogerson               020 7638 9571 
 Kevin Smith 
 Nick Hayns 
 

About Ibstock plc

Ibstock plc is a leading manufacturer of clay bricks and a diversified range of clay and concrete products, from its operations in the United Kingdom. Its principal products are clay bricks, brick components, concrete roof tiles, concrete substitutes for stone masonry, concrete fencing and pre--stressed concrete products.

The Group's primary businesses are:

 
  -   Ibstock Brick: The leading manufacturer by volume of clay bricks sold in the United Kingdom. 
       With 19 manufacturing sites Ibstock Brick has the largest brick production capacity in the 
       UK. It operates a network of 23 active quarries which are generally located close to its manufacturing 
       plants. Ibstock Brick has recently commissioned a new soft mud brick manufacturing plant in 
       Leicestershire that added approximately 100 million bricks (c.13%) to its brick production 
       capacity per annum. Ibstock Kevington provides masonry and pre-fabricated component building 
       solutions, operating from 5 sites across the UK. 
  -   Ibstock Concrete: A leading manufacturer of concrete roofing, walling and fencing products, 
       along with lintels and general concrete building products, with 13 manufacturing plants in 
       the United Kingdom. 
 

Forward--looking statements

This announcement contains "forward--looking statements". These forward--looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and include statements regarding the intentions, beliefs or current expectations of the directors. By their nature, forward--looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and

circumstances that are difficult to predict and outside of the Group's ability to control.

Forward--looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the actual results of the Group's operations. Forward--looking statements speak only as of the date of such statements and, except as required by applicable law, the Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward--looking statements.

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May 23, 2019 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)