Forterra swings to 2020 pretax loss amid "significant" Covid-19 impact

(Alliance News) - Forterra PLC on Tuesday said its 2020 financial performance was "significantly" ...

Alliance News 9 March, 2021 | 11:12AM
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(Alliance News) - Forterra PLC on Tuesday said its 2020 financial performance was "significantly" damaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, but it saw steady trading improvement during the second half of the year.

The Northampton, England-headquartered building products manufacturer's 2020 revenue was GBP291.9 million, down 23% from GBP380.0 million in 2019. This is higher than the company's 2020 revenue expectations of GBP290 million, which it forecast due to Brick and Block revenue for November and December combined being 6% higher year-on-year.

The 2020 decrease is reflected in Brick and Block revenue dropping 20% and Bespoke Products falling 31% year-on-year, it said.

Forterra swung to a 2020 pretax loss of GBP5.4 million from a GBP58.2 million profit in 2019, while pretax profit before exceptional items was GBP17.4 million, down from GBP62.5 million. This is above the company's 2020 pretax profit forecast of GBP16 million. Exceptional items totalled GBP22.8 million, comprising impairment, restructuring and refinancing costs.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation before exceptional items were GBP37.9 million, down from GBP82.7 million in 2019, in line with company expectations of about GBP37 million. Forterra's high level of fixed costs meant that earnings and profits fell more significantly than revenue.

Forterra proposed a final dividend of 2.8 pence, down from 4.0p in 2019. No interim dividend was paid during 2020 and it cancelled its total 2019 dividend in order to preserve liquidity at the time.

Shares in Forterra were up 2.6% at 279.00p in London on Tuesday.

"Clearly, our full year financial performance was impacted by Covid-19, notably in the first half, however our trading performance steadily improved as the year progressed. Operating cash flow benefited from disciplined working capital management and we were pleased to complete a successful equity placing and refinancing in July. Our strong balance sheet, proven history of operating cash generation and the benefits to come from the Desford investment, mean that the board believes Forterra is well placed to deliver continued growth and attractive returns to shareholders," said Chief Executive Stephen Harrison.

Looking ahead, Forterra said the "much improved" trading conditions seen in the first half of the year have continued into 2021.

"This trend, alongside the lengthening order books of our housebuilding customers, offers support for a continued recovery in our key markets in the first half of the year. While there is growing optimism about the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, there remains ongoing uncertainty over its continuing economic implications, which leads us to maintain a cautious outlook for the year as a whole," said Harrison.

By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com

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