UK's Ibstock warns on full-year profit as construction market stays weak

Aug 5 (Reuters) - British bricks and concrete maker Ibstock warned on Wednesday that its full-year results would land around the lower end of market expectations, as weakness in construction markets persisted amid Middle East tensions and political uncertainty in the UK.

Here are some details:

• Britain's construction sector, and residential building in particular, has been contracting rapidly, squeezed by rising inflation stemming from the Iran conflict and a surge in raw material, energy and supply costs in its aftermath

• Ibstock said it expects stronger adjusted core profits in the second half, but flagged near-term challenges from weak private housebuilding and repair activity, higher energy costs and political uncertainty in the UK, which recently saw a change of prime minister.

• The maker of clay bricks and concrete products said it implemented annual price increases in February and a temporary surcharge in June to offset the energy and fuel-related cost inflation.

• For the six months ended June, the group's revenue fell 15% to £164 million ($220.60 million), with clay brick revenues down 8%, amid soft demand in repair, maintenance and improvement markets

• The company also reported a first-half pre-tax loss of £27 million, swinging from an £8 million profit a year earlier, hit by a £25 million non-cash impairment on its mothballed soft mud brick facilities

• Ibstock now expects adjusted core profit for the year ending December to come in around the lower end of a company-compiled analyst range of £59 million to £68 million for 2026.

($1 = £0.7434)

(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)