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SigmaRoc PLC on Monday reported a rise in half-year revenue, but an even steeper rise in administrative and other expenses reduced profit. The London-based building materials company specialising in lime and minerals said its revenue for the six months ended June 30 was £468.8 million, up 60% from £290.0 million at the same time last year. However, pretax profit fell 29% to £17.2 million from £24.3 million. Cost of sales increased by 60%, in line with revenue growth, to £357.9 million from £223.3 million, but administrative expenses increased by 94% to £69.9 million from £36.0 million. SigmaRoc said it has now ‘fully integrated’ its acquisition in January of lime businesses in Germany, the Czech Republic and Ireland from CRH PLC. A UK lime acquisition was completed in March, with the integration ‘progressing ahead of schedule’, and a Polish acquisition was completed post period end. Looking ahead, despite a ‘positive start’ to the second half of the year, with food, agriculture, mining and infrastructure sectors remaining ‘robust’, SigmaRoc warned that ‘some end markets continue to show mixed demand with areas of weakness remaining in certain areas, such as German power and auto sectors’. Chief Executive Officer Max Vermorken said: ‘The second half has started well, with many areas of the business showing good demand, despite some areas of weakness. The progress on the synergy program continues with guidance on the minimum target level increased to €35 million by 2027, even before allowing for synergies that will arise post completion of the Polish acquisition. ‘With the recent acquisitions now completed, SigmaRoc has transformed into a business with several lifetimes supply of a key natural resource that is essential to all the processes around modern life. This resource base provides SigmaRoc with a unique position in the European lime market.’ The company declared no interim dividend, unchanged from a year before. Shares in SigmaRoc were down 2.4% to 65.80 pence each in London on Monday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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