22nd Oct 2019 12:16
(Alliance News) - Forterra PLC said Tuesday trading in the three months to the end of September has "slowed", and now expects its annual profit in 2019 to come in "modestly" below what it reported in 2018.
Shares in the building products manufacturer were down 9.5% in midday trading in London at 270.50 pence each.
Forterra noted new build housing market volumes have "remained broadly" in line with management views, but trading with distributors and non-residential applications has weakened.
"Key indicators such as UK national brick sales volumes, construction output, new housing starts, housing transactions and consumer confidence also point to further uncertainty in macroeconomic conditions," the company added.
Forterra said this "weakened activity" has seen its brick and block volumes fall in line with the overall marekt.
The company continued: "Precast concrete sales have slowed in recent weeks despite good growth earlier in the year. Whilst a sustained improvement in productivity has now been achieved, the Bison precast business is unlikely to deliver the level of margin growth anticipated in the second half as a result of delays in a number of large contracts."
As a result, Forterra expects its pretax profit for 2019 to be "modestly" below the GBP64.8 million reported in 2018.
"Despite the short term political and economic uncertainty, the board remains confident in its strategy and believes that the business is well positioned to benefit from attractive market fundamentals over the medium term," Forterra added.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
Copyright 2019 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Forterra