26th May 2016 06:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - Clay bricks manufacturer Ibstock PLC on Thursday said it has seen good trading momentum in the first four months of 2016, but said its UK clay business made a slower start to the year than expected.
Ibstock said UK brick sales to the new residential sector grew, but the UK clay business was hit by destocking in the builders' merchant supply chain, itself driven by softness in the repair, maintenance and improvement market.
This has improved, Ibstock said, but a shift in its sales mix in the first four months will mean overall average pricing will take a hit.
Ibstock added its US clay business and its UK concrete arm both continued to perform well.
The group said market fundamentals remain positive in the UK and US and said its expectations for the full year are broadly unchanged.
It will publish interim results on August 5.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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