Shares in brick manufacturer Ibstock (LON:IBST) rose Tuesday, after a strong performance from the housing sector boosted both revenue and profit.
Revenue gained 5 percent to hit £435 million, alongside a 8 percent rise in pre-tax profit to £110.9 million.
Adjusted earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation also increased 4 percent to £112 million, with adjusted earnings per share was 18.1p.
The company saw £44 million of capital expenditure on major projects, while it continued strong cash conversion of 88 percent. Performance was boosted largely by the group’s clay business, which saw a stronger second half driven by good activity levels from the new build housing sector.
Wayne Sheppard, Ibstock’s Chief Executive Officer, called the performance “robust”, adding: “We have made an encouraging start to the new financial year, against softer comparatives from 2016 when our UK Clay business was affected by distributor destocking.”
Despite “uncertainty arising from events such as the EU referendum in the UK and the US Presidential election”, Sheppard said:
“With continued strength in the new home developer market, normalised demand from the merchant sector in the UK, and a positive economic backdrop in the US, our businesses have traded ahead of the prior year in the early weeks of 2017.”
Looking ahead, he said “While we remain mindful of the uncertainties surrounding Brexit we maintain our expectations for another year of progress.”
Ibstock declared a final dividend of 5.3p per share, up from 4.4p, making the full year dividend 7.7p.
Ibstock’s shares are currently trading up 2.88 percent at 208.96 (1112GMT).
