Tarmac boosted its UK revenue and underlying profitability last year through measures including price increases, its latest accounts show.
The company, which quarries aggregate, makes concrete and has contracting subsidiaries, increased revenue from £1.81bn to £2bn in accounts for the year ending 31 December 2022.
Tarmac’s pre-tax profit came in at £125.9m, down sharply from £263.1m in 2021.
However, the firm said this was “mainly the result of reversals due to impairment of prior year results, not replicated in the current year”. These added £85m to the 2021 balance sheet.
“Having removed them, the underlying trading has improved during the year […] driven by strong UK construction sector growth of 5.6% in 2022 (Office for National Statistics data),” said a statement alongside the accounts.
“This was supported by strong activity in the housing market along with continued growth in infrastructure spending.
“Cost inflation continued to be a factor during the period. However, the company was able to recover this through target price increases during the year.”
The year was marked by high cost inflation, especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Last monththe Construction Leadership Council said price inflation in the sector had leveled off, but warned that its impact continued to put pressure on smaller contractors.
Results for Tarmac Trading Ltd, the parent company of a number of UK firms including contractors Farrans and Alun Griffiths, also showed its workforce grew. The company employed 2,782 people in 2022, up from 2,437 in 2021. Tarmac Trading is a subsidiary of CRH, a multinational based in Dublin.
Earlier this month, results for the same period for civil contractor Alun Griffiths, which Tarmac acquired for £36m in 2018, showed a pre-tax loss of £20m on turnover of £301m. The company has lost £74.5m in the past four years.
