- Demand for construction materials at record levels
- Leverage pared back sharply since CEMEX deal
Shares in Breedon (BREE) were marked up on release of interim figures that reflect the recovery in construction activity, while making good on the promise to pay a maiden interim dividend. The results were also characterised by a 4-percentage point increase in the group’s return on invested capital to 9.2 per cent. The construction materials group swung to a £56.4m underlying operating profit, against a loss in HY2020, while revenue was 17 per cent to the good on a like-for-like basis.
With numbers clearly heading in the right direction, chief executive Rob Wood felt able to predict that underlying operating profit for 2021 will be at the top end of market expectations.