With the Irish construction industry falling deeper into the mire, Readymix’s sales revenue was down 24% and no upturn is expected until 2013 at the earliest. The revenue drop follows a 36% fall in 2010 on 2009.
Exceptional items of €12.6m in the H1 2011 included rationalisation costs of €2.8m, impairment charges of €12.7m and a net gain of €2.9m related to the closure of pension schemes.
With cost reduction the top priority, no major capital projects will be undertaken until trading conditions improve. The board said that it “continues to evaluate the possible disposal of certain business assets”.
Majority owner Cemex, the global cement giant, has extended Readymix’s credit line for an additional three years to September 2014 and increased the facility from €25m to €35m. The board believes that this is enough to meet Readymix’s liquidity requirements for the foreseeable future.
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