Breedon Group plc has delivered a resilient performance in the 10-month to 31 October 2024 with robust pricing and a focus on operational excellence more than offsetting the impact of a challenging British market.

When compared to the same period in 2023, revenue for the 10M24 increased seven per cent and for the four months to 31 October increased 11 per cent. LfL revenue decreased four per cent in the first 10 months and decreased one per cent for the four months to 31 October.

"We have continued to invest in our assets, providing further opportunities to optimise operational performance. We have generated good free cash flow and are on track to deliver a further reductionin covenant leverage at the year end, providing us with the financial flexibility to continue to invest for growth," said the company in a statement.

During October BMC completed its first transaction under Breedon ownership, acquiring a manufacturer of masonry blocks, retaining wall blocks, pavers, stone, and brick products located in western Illinois, USA. The business is highly complementary to BMC and generates revenue of approximately US$9m per annum.

The cement business successfully completed the scheduled kiln shutdown and replacement ofthe primary crusher at Hope on time and within budget. Kinnegad has maintained its worldleading performance with alternative fuel substitution consistently in excess of 80 per cent.

In addition, Breedon Group made further progress in respect of our sustainability priorities with our carbon reduction targets now validated by SBTi. 

Outlook
The group has sustained its resilient performance in the year to date and its expectations for the full year remain unchanged. It continues to expect to deliver full year 2024 underlying EBIT in line with market consensus. Enquiry and tendering levels across all three geographies are healthy going into 2025. With interest rates falling and increased political clarity, the conditions for a housing-led recovery coupled with an ongoing focus on infrastructure investment are in place, most notably in Great Britain. While market risks remain, the company expects 2024 should represent the floor in construction materials volumes. In the meantime it will continue to focus on self-help, executing operational and commercial excellence programmes while pursuing opportunities in its healthy M&A pipeline, according to the company.

Rob Wood, Breedon Group CEO, commented: “These are exciting times at Breedon. We now operate across three geographies, have built a first-class team, and are on track to deliver a further year of record revenue and operating profit."