Building materials group Readymix has blamed bad weather and a slowdown in construction activity over the last 12-18 months for a drop in pre-tax profits to €12 million in the first half of the year.
Turnover dropped by 9 per cent to €102.8 million, with sales in Ireland falling by fell by 12.6 per cent to €57 million.
While the company noted some pick-up in housing starts, this was not enough to offset a very weak commercial sector and some delays in rolling out the National Development Plan.
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Business in Northern Ireland (NI) was also affected by bad weather and, as a result, sales were down 5 per cent to €45 million. Readymix says that market conditions are more stable in NI and operating margins improved as a result of lower costs and overheads.
"From mid-May to the end of June almost continual rain made many sites unworkable and demand in this period was seriously depressed," Mr John McNerney said in a statement.
"The combined effects of bad weather, sluggish levels of activity and a slowdown in construction spend, all contributed to the performance in the first half of the year," he said.
The company also said it would difficult to predict an outcome for the full year given that the conditions which prevailed in H1 continued into July.