Quarrying giant Breedon has seen a near 140 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to 拢114 million.
The Leicestershire construction materials business said it delivered record volumes, revenues and earnings last year, and supplied more material to its customers than ever before .
Total sales for the 2021 calendar year were up a third at 拢1.23 billion on the back of the increase in demand along with acquisitions.
Breedon, which is based near East Midlands Airport in north Leicestershire, said forecasts were predicting 鈥渕id-single digit growth in 2022 and, while commodity cost volatility is expected to continue the pricing backdrop is increasingly dynamic and we expect to fully recover input cost increases.鈥
Breedon operates two cement plants as well as quarries, asphalt plants and ready-mixed concrete plants, and also has slate production, concrete and clay products manufacturing, contract surfacing and highway maintenance operations.
It holds about a billion tonnes of mineral reserves and resources and employs around 3,500 people.
Chief executive Rob Wood said the business was on a strong footing for further growth.
He said: "2021 was a record year for Breedon.
鈥淲e navigated the second year of the pandemic successfully, supplied our customers with more materials than at any point in our history and fully integrated the Cemex assets.
鈥淭his excellent outcome was achieved at a time of constant change and the response from our colleagues, adjusting to the pandemic and the volatile economic backdrop, has been outstanding.
"Breedon is maturing. There are strong demand dynamics in our markets and we have many exciting opportunities ahead of us in the current year and beyond.
鈥淥ur GB Surfacing business is positioned for growth, the Cemex acquisition is integrated and poised to reap the benefits of our investment, and we see a number of bolt-on opportunities to in-fill our current footprint in GB and Ireland.
鈥淔urther afield, we have appointed a business development director in the US as we advance our plans for a third platform.
"Breedon has come a long way in the past decade and we have a consistent track record for profitable and cash generative expansion.
鈥淥ur experienced leadership team and committed workforce operate a well-invested portfolio of assets with significant opportunities for sustainable growth.
鈥淲e have a strong balance sheet and will continue to take a measured approach to deploying our capital, taking the time required to find the right businesses to extend our portfolio.
鈥淭he building blocks are in place for our next chapter of growth."
Sign up for your free East Midlands newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the East Midlands including Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates.
We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away.
For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our
