One to watch this year is Breedon Aggregates as, in line with the resurgence of the UK construction industry, the company has seen a stark increase in group turnover as highlighted in last year’s financial reports. In addition to this, a marked increase in company profits has also been highlighted.
Forterra, the UK’s leading producer of manufactured masonry products, as well as a frontrunner in the manufacture of clay bricks, has recently announced a plan to float on the stock exchange. Expected to float within some four weeks’ time, Forterra has laid out plans to submit an application for ordinary
Although in the process of being purchased by Breedon Aggregates, Hope Construction Materials has made the move to continue growing and solidifying its market brand, attempting to secure the future of the company, and potentially lay the foundations for the takeover by Breedon Aggregates. The takeover, which still requites approval
A surge in interest for speciality and performance films is on the horizon, figures suggest. Brought about through increasing growth within the flexible packaging and solar energy industries, it is expected that there will be an interested interest in, and focus upon new films which are able to offer enhanced
Breedon Aggregates has reported a 28% rise in half-year revenue and a near doubling of pre-tax profits. Breedon Aggregates has reported a 28% rise in half-year revenue and a near doubling of pre-tax profits. Read Full Article: The Construction Index
One to watch this year is Breedon Aggregates as, in line with the resurgence of the UK construction industry, the company has seen a stark increase in group turnover as highlighted in last year’s financial reports. In addition to this, a marked increase in company profits has also been highlighted. Showcasing an 18% increase in revenues for 2015, Breedon Aggregates’ turnover totalled in at a notable £318.5m for 2015, showcasing considerable growth in the present market – a market which, while recovering, is still relatively volatile by nature. In line with the growth, Breedon Aggregates also enjoyed a rise in pre-tax profits for 2015, rising by approximately 46% to a value of £31,3m. The underlying EBITDA for Breedon Aggregates saw an increase up to £54.9m, with its margin increasing up to 17.2% for 2015, effectively meeting the group’s medium term target for EBITDA margin as set all the way back in 2010, thus positioning the company in a relatively strong position for the coming years. The results come as the company is in the final stages of securing its £336m acquisition of leading construction material supplier, Hope Construction Materials, which is hoped to be checked off from a regulatory respective mid-2016. Of course, should the acquisition go as plans, predictions for the group’s future revenue levels could considerably overshadow the success of 2015. With Hope Construction Materials also still releasing new, branded products to the market, this is expected to further strengthen the brand in the coming times, as well as providing even greater access to group turnovers should the deal with Breedon Aggregates go ahead. “We begin an exciting new era in 2016 with the planned acquisition of Hope and we look forward to the future with confidence,” commented Breedon Aggregates’ Executive Chairman, Peter Tom. This, of course, ties in with governmental commitments to investing back into infrastructure and an increase workloads for the entirety of the sector as leading infrastructure projects come into action.
Forterra, the UK’s leading producer of manufactured masonry products, as well as a frontrunner in the manufacture of clay bricks, has recently announced a plan to float on the stock exchange. Expected to float within some four weeks’ time, Forterra has laid out plans to submit an application for ordinary shares in the company to be listed in the premium section of the Official List of the FCA as well as to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market in the section of listed securities. Credited with bringing the company back into the production of a previously-mothballed capacity sitting at a total of 50m bricks per year, Forterra has seemingly turned the tides, and has also seen the increased capacity for production at its Measham site by some 19m bricks per year. In fact, the past few years have seen a great degree of investment into its production facilities, not solely from a capacity perspective, but also from that of improving the efficiencies of production at a number, including improvements made at the sites in Hoveringham, Hams Hall, Accrington, and the aforementioned site at Measham. Claiming to be the only UK manufacturer to offer a significant range of concrete blocks and clay bricks, Forterra offers a vast range of products under its own brand identity, as well as Fletton brick under the brand of the London Brick. Referred to as one of the leading producer of building materials, specifically in the UK, Stephen Harrison, Chief Executive of Forterra explained: “The fundamentals of our industry are attractive.” Then highlighting how the company has the base in place from which the company can operate onto and into the future, he also went on to comment: “Listing as a business is the next step in realising the significant potential that we see for Forterra.”
Although in the process of being purchased by Breedon Aggregates, Hope Construction Materials has made the move to continue growing and solidifying its market brand, attempting to secure the future of the company, and potentially lay the foundations for the takeover by Breedon Aggregates. The takeover, which still requites approval from the competition authorities, is predicted to come to fruition over the course of the year, yet, whether through uncertainty of approval or a determination to prove the strength of the brand to Breedon Aggregates, the company is displaying a degree of normality in operation as if planning for the future of the organisation, much like any other. Additionally, Hope Construction Materials is also set to launch a brand new brand of bagged cement, to be transported from the production plant in Derbyshire by rail, through to distribution at the new plant in Dagenham. The products, once distributed, are expected to be available to customers throughout the South of England. The move represent the company’s first time both producing and branding its own cement products for mass distribution – previously the supply of its cement products had been undertaken by third party suppliers. It’s of no real surprise that Hope Construction Materials expects to go ahead with the product launch, despite the takeover talks, due to the stage of the project which has been some around a year and a half in the making. Additionally, a great deal of research has been undertaken so as best to ensure that the product is targeted towards the increasingly-specific requirements of the modern building industry – this undertaken through communication with leading builders and merchants to understand their needs. Hope Construction Materials’ Commercial Director, Gary Brennand explained: “Using this insight we have developed a full package which we believe will redefine the sector.” As such, the new, professional grade cement is expected to be received with much anticipation with the greater construction industry.
A surge in interest for speciality and performance films is on the horizon, figures suggest. Brought about through increasing growth within the flexible packaging and solar energy industries, it is expected that there will be an interested interest in, and focus upon new films which are able to offer enhanced mechanical and aesthetic value for customers brought about through new, innovative production techniques. With packaging sector professionals taking a great step forward from more traditional means of production, organisations are now increasingly being seen to incorporate advanced technologies and develop new, innovative methods of producing packaging as backed by notable growth in the wider industry. Of the new, innovative products brought to the market as a result, performance, speciality films are of the most prominent, with such films boasting improved protection in ensuring that products such as perishable items remain undamaged. Additionally, the films have also been shown to bring considerable benefits for with Solar PV and other electrical goods due to conductivity levels. In an official report put out there by Transparency Market Research, it has been highlighted that these films are on the brink of extreme market interest, with a projected value of the performance films market sitting at $42.21 at the close of 2019. And while the growth up until this point is naturally expected to be a steady increase, those organisations involved in the production of performance and speciality films are expected to be provided with ample opportunity to take advantage of the increasingly dominating market. In other areas of film development, research and development has been conducted with the view to bringing water-soluble films to the market also, offering a highly sustainable solution for green-conscious companies. That said, performance films are presently reliant upon crude oil production, which remains less friendly towards the environment. This, as a result, means the market may remain fairly volatile as a result of regular changes in oil pricing as well as the public’s view of the industry. And so, looking forward, the challenge to put to manufacturers of such films is quite clearly to find a way to combine the best of both worlds and, if this can be achieved, success can, in turn, be all but assured.
Breedon Aggregates has reported a 28% rise in half-year revenue and a near doubling of pre-tax profits. Breedon Aggregates has reported a 28% rise in half-year revenue and a near doubling of pre-tax profits. Read Full Article: The Construction Index