Brickmaker unveils £45m factory plans
Midlands brickmaking giant Ibstock has announced plans to create a new factory at its Atlas site in Walsall.
The facility – which will have the capacity to turn out 80 million bricks per year – will reportedly cost the Leicestershire firm £45 million to build.
The news comes after the firm posted a 5 per cent increase in revenue in its annual results. Although Ibstock’s pre-tax profits decreased by 12 per cent to £82 million during the 12 months to 31 December 2019, it turned over £409 million during the period and said its trading performance had been “resilient” given the degree of economic and political uncertainty that afflicted the sector last year.
Ibstock CEO Joe Hudson said: “2019 was a year of progress for Ibstock, as we delivered a resilient trading performance against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty. We made good progress against our strategic priorities, including measures to enhance production volumes and quality, the strengthening of our executive team and expanding our Concrete business, through the acquisition of Longley Concrete.
“Our strong cash generation allowed us to invest in the business and to pay a further supplementary dividend to our shareholders while remaining towards the lower end of our debt guidance range. Today we are announcing a further investment in a new state-of-the-art 80 million per annum clay brick factory to re-develop our Atlas site, in the West Midlands.
“Fundamentals in the UK remain robust, with a structural housing deficit, low interest rates, high employment and the benefit of the Government’s Help-to-Buy scheme all underpinning the market. However, the political uncertainty which caused more subdued market conditions in the second half of 2019 has meant a slower start to 2020. We anticipate that activity levels will improve as the year progresses, and as a result, expect to deliver a stable outcome for the year.”
