Brick making company Forterra has revealed that it is considering the temporary closure of two of its plants because of economic uncertainty, even though it also stated that its profits are operating at expected levels.
The company, based in Northampton, announced that it is looking at closing its brick plants in Claughton and Accrington, both in Lancashire.
However, the brick manufacturer did not state explicitly whether or not its decision to review its current production operation was linked in any way to the UKâs decision to leave the European Union.
The firm also announced that the profits posted up until the end of June were as expected, along with a continued strong operating cash flow generation, while having a net debt of £20 million; this exceeded the companyâs expectations.
Forterra said in a statement that they were considering the move because of current economic uncertainty and sufficient brick inventory levels.
The company added that the closure of two of its plants would allow them to continue to meet the needs of its customers while managing costs until it is in a position to be able to forecast demand more effectively.
Forterra runs nine brick making facilities in the UK and has a full production capacity of approximately 570 million bricks every year. Meanwhile, company shared went down by 6.8% on Tuesday lunchtime (July 5) to 120p.
Brick Development Association Chief Executive, Andrew Eagles said: There is uncertainty at senior government levels around post-Brexit and leadership of both political parties and thatâs causing a bit of uncertainty in terms of construction.
Thereâs less certainty in terms of brick numbers for the upcoming couple of months. Those factories can be bought back relatively quickly, so what theyâre [Forterra] moving to do is to utilise the more efficient plants where they can expand production when they need to.
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