21st Jul 2016 07:31
LONDON (Alliance News) - Breedon Aggregates Ltd on Thursday posted growth in profit and revenue for the first half and said it has agreed the disposal of assets to secure regulatory approval for the acquisition of Hope Construction Materials.
Breedon said pretax profit for the half to the end of June was GBP20.9 million, up 19% year-on-year from the GBP17.5 million it posted the year prior. Revenue grew to GBP163.0 million from GBP160.5 million, up 2.0%, boosted by operational efficiencies which expanded margins.
The company sold 4.6 million tonnes of aggregates in the half, up from 4.5 million tonnes the comparable period a year earlier. it sold 900,000 tonnes of asphalt, flat year-on-year, and sold 500,000 cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete, up from 400,000.
Breedon said it remains confident it will meet market expectations for 2016 and said it continues to seek out potential bolt-on acquisitions.
In a separate announcement, the company said it has now entered agreements to sell 14 ready-mixed concrete plants to Tarmac Trading Ltd and The Concrete Co Ltd, part of the remedies required to get approval for the GBP336.0 million purchase of Hope Construction.
Breedon said it remains confident it will secure approval for the Hope deal from the UK's Competition & Markets Authority by August 1.
"We delivered an excellent operating performance in the first half, with both our businesses making strong contributions, improving revenues and earnings before interest and tax margins," said Executive Chairman Peter Tom.
"Whatever the prognosis for the UK economy, we remain confident that we can continue to generate value for our shareholders. We have some major contracts which will help to underpin our performance during a period of uncertainty, along with a strong balance sheet and a record of strong cash generation in challenging markets," he added.
Shares in Breedon were up 1.1% to 67.23 pence.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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