‘Very significant’ material inflation hits concrete specialist’s bottom line

Profit at concrete specialist MPB Structures dropped last year after the firm had to deal with “very significant inflation” in raw material costs caused by the war in Ukraine.

The Northampton-headquartered firm – the UK’s 10th biggest concrete contractor in the CN Specialists Index 2024 – reported a pre-tax profit of £4.3m in the year to 30 September 2024, down from £4.7m.

The ongoing full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, caused “very significant inflation in raw materials and particularly steel reinforcement”, MPB said in its annual results, published on Thursday (22 May).

“We were able to manage these fluctuations with the support of our clients and our supply chain,” the company said.

Turnover was up on the previous year, rising from £112m to £115.8m, which the firm attributed to a higher number of contract starts.

MPB Structures said in the accounts that it also benefited from the ongoing wider recovery in the construction sector after headwinds from Covid and Brexit.

However, the firm added that it had “absorbed significant increases in construction insurance rates due to cladding-related claims in other sectors” in recent years.

MPB Structures operates in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds across the commercial, residential, educational and infrastructure sectors.

In its accounts, the business reported an increased workload from government agencies, particularly on hospitals and the HS2 high-speed rail line.

Looking ahead, more than 55 per cent of its forward-order book is with government clients.

The firm’s cash pile nearly doubled to £6.1m, having totalled £3.1m in the preceding financial year.

MPB increased its average monthly headcount from 62 to 73 employees, resulting in a slightly higher annual wage bill of £6.7m compared with £6.6m previously.

It also had no bank loans or overdrafts, whereas in the previous year it held a £3.4m overdraft repayable within 12 months.