Breedon sees profits slump after Covid pandemic disruption
Construction materials group Breedon saw profits fall by about 50 per cent following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The firm, which has operations across Shropshire and the West Midlands, has reported £48.1 million pre-tax profit for the year ending December 31 2020, compared with £94.6 million a year earlier.
However, revenue stabilised at £928.7 million compared with £929.6 million as the company hailed a strong recovery in the second half of the year with like-for-like revenue ahead of the prior year.
The firm sold 21.7 million tonnes of aggregates last year compared with 20.2 million in 2019, 3.3 million tonnes of asphalt compared with three million, 2.6 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete compared with three million and two million tonnes of cement, the same as 2019.
Pat Ward, group chief executive, said: "The pandemic brought unprecedented pressures to bear on the group in 2020, which demanded an exceptional response from everyone in our business and I would like to say thank you to all our stakeholders for their support during a difficult year. Most especially I would like to thank our colleagues who have worked tirelessly and enabled us to recover strongly in the second half to deliver a very creditable outcome for the year.
"Although we remain mindful of the ongoing impact of Covid-19, with the worst of the pandemic now hopefully behind us and some welcome clarity on Brexit, I believe the prospects for Breedon and for our industry are increasingly positive.
"With robust commitments from the UK and Irish governments to infrastructure investment and continuing long-term demand for housing, forecasters are expecting this year and next to see steady growth in demand for our products in both countries.
"During 2020 we proved our ability to deliver a resilient performance against a backdrop of unprecedented disruption. Our track record, coupled with improving market conditions, gives us considerable confidence in the long-term outlook for our company."
Breedon also confirmed group finance director Rob Wood will succeed Pat Ward as CEO on April 1. James Brotherton will succeed Mr Wood as chief financial officer and will join the board on the same date.
