Readymix which has produced good interim results with a 10.9 per cent growth in profits to £7 million will never be a highflier as long as it remains a subsidiary of the British RMC Group. As there are no signs of a parting of the ways, Readymix's ability to move out of its shell will remain severely restricted.

RMC did make an attempt to free the shackles from Readymix by selling it the RMC Caterwood businesses in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. That has broadened Readymix's horizons somewhat, but it still cannot go into the British market and compete with RMC.

These restrictions are in sharp contrast to other publicly quoted building materials companies. CRH, for example, only relies on the domestic market for a minority of its sales and profits. Grafton and Heiton have also expanded outside the confines of the Irish market. Readymix now has to move in line with the whims of the market. Normally in a go-go economy, companies reap the benefits of increased business through plumper profit margins. But Readymix's margins are unchanged because of excess capacity in the industry. If this excess capacity remains then Readymix will feel the brunt in the next cyclical downturn. There are no signs of that happening yet but Readymix looks destined to be a steady eddy, moving in tandem with the moods of the building materials industry.