Hanson boosts turnover 9%

Hanson’s turnover in the first six months of 2005 was £1.7bn, a rise of 9% over the comparable period last year with pre-tax profit jumping by more than a quarter to £170m.

During the first-half, the total spend on bolt-on acquisitions ran to £300m on eight deals, and more are in the pipeline for the coming six months.

In the UK, Hanson bought Marshalls Clay Products for £65m in January to enhance its position in UK bricks and acquired Thermalite, a leader in aircrete blocks, for £120m in March to expand its product range.

The Hanson Aggregates UK division lifted turnover to £400m with the operating profit almost doubling to £43m. Increases in selling prices averaged 7% for aggregates, 6.5% for ready-mixed concrete and 5.4% for asphalt.

Hanson Building Products UK had a £200m turnover. Price increases of 7.6% and 2.4% were achieved for bricks and concrete blocks respectively.