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Company unable to meet recovery in demand

Ibstock
(IBST) 245.2p


Loss to date: 18.1%

Original entry point: 

Buy at 299.4p, 10 May 2018


The market already knew brick maker Ibstock (IBST) was a victim of delays associated with an exceptionally cool winter and early spring in the UK.

However a 30 July trading update reveals that now demand has recovered, the company is unable to fully service its customer base thanks to issues in its production facilities.

As a result, and factoring in maintenance spend to address the problems in its factories, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will come in below previous forecasts for between £130m and £134m at between £121m and £125m.

This largely looks a headache of the company’s own making which is frustrating for investors and for Shares given we recently highlighted the attractions of the stock.

Notably recent first half results (31 Jul) from its main UK rival Forterra (FORT) were more impressive with revenue up 10.6% to £162.7m.

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