UK: Breedon Group has reported its first half results for 2018, which showed a 16% year-on-year increase in revenue to Euro419.3m and a 3% fall in profit before tax to Euro33.7m. The group completed the acquisition of Ireland-based Lagan Group during the period under review, as well as other companies in the UK.
Peter Tom CBE, Executive Chairman, commented, “This was one of the busiest periods in the Group’s history, with four acquisitions completed by 1 July 2018, including our first outside Great Britain, coupled with continued organic investment in a number of key projects. We had anticipated a challenging 2018 and so it proved in the first half, with testing trading conditions exacerbated by the severe weather in the first quarter and rising input costs throughout the period. Despite these headwinds, we delivered a resilient performance.”
“We continue to view the medium- to long-term outlook in Great Britain positively, with infrastructure spending forecast to increase steadily over the next three years and government strategies to address our chronic housing shortage expected to fuel continued growth in the residential sector. Market conditions in Ireland are expected to be even healthier, with construction output in the Republic forecast to grow by approximately 28% in the three years to 2020 and Northern Ireland expected to sustain construction output at approximately Euro3.33bn/yr from 2018 to 2022.”
