Ibstock says it is on track to make the UK’s first net zero bricks by the end of the year as it reported 2022 revenues up 25 per cent at £510 million.
The Leicestershire-based business said investments in its Atlas and Aldridge factories in the West Midlands were on track to help it hit its sustainability targets.
It wants to achieve 20 per cent of sales from new and sustainable products by 2030, and to be fully net zero by 2040. Construction is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions.
The business also said while it expects trading conditions this year to be worse than 2022, it is well positioned to capitalise on opportunities and meet “ambitious” medium-term financial targets.
Ibstock makes bricks, brick components, concrete roof tiles, concrete substitutes for stone masonry, concrete fencing and pre‐stressed concrete.
Its Ibstock Brick division operates 16 sites giving it the “largest” brick production capacity in the United Kingdom.
It has 19 quarries located close to its manufacturing plants while Ibstock Kevington provides masonry and pre-fabricated building components from six sites.
Ibstock Concrete, which makes roofing, walling, flooring and fencing products, along with lintels and general concrete building products, has 14 manufacturing plants.
Chief executive Joe Hudson said: “The business delivered a resilient performance in the final quarter of 2022, despite, as expected, lower sales volumes across both new build and RMI (repair, maintenance and improvement) markets reflecting a more cautious demand environment.
“A continued disciplined focus on cost management, alongside our dynamic commercial approach, underpinned a solid margin performance in Q4 and resulted in adjusted EBITDA for 2022 that was modestly ahead of our previous expectations.
“The strong performance achieved in 2022 reflects the strategic progress we have made as a business over recent years.
“Our balance sheet is strong, we continue to make good progress towards our ambitious 2030 ESG targets, and our growth investments in both the core business and Ibstock Futures are progressing well.
“We are particularly excited about the prospect of producing the UK's first net zero carbon brick at our redeveloped Atlas factory before the end of this year.”
"Whilst in the short-term we expect market conditions to be more challenging, we remain well positioned to deliver strong growth over the medium-term."
