Brickmaker sees income drop as housebuilders build fewer homes

Brickmaker Forterra said revenue in the first four months of the year slipped nearly a quarter from the same period last time.

In a trading update this morning, the firm said revenue was down 24% to £109m adding that it expected a 20% fall in full year market demand compared to 2022.

At its annual results in March, the firm warned investors of weaker trading in the year ahead as housebuilders build fewer homes.

But it said improved housebuilder reservation rates in the second half of the year “provide cause for optimism and an improving outlook for H2 2023 and into 2024”.

It added this year’s annual results would be “weighted towards H2 reflecting the anticipated improvement in market conditions”.

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Forterra’s new £95m brick factory at Desford in Leicestershire will open tomorrow and will eventually see the firm’s brickwork production rise from 80 million bricks a year to 180 million.

In its 2022 results, the brickmaker reported revenue of £456m, a rise of 23% on the number it posted in 2021, and a pre-tax profit of £73m, up 28% from £57m.