The group delivered revenues for the first eight months of the year of £531 million (2019: £624m), including a one-month contribution from its recently-acquired CEMEX assets in the UK. Last week the firm announced its intention to sell a small number of ready-mixed concrete plants and an asphalt plant in England, and two quarries and a cement terminal in Scotland to address competition concerns regarding the deal.

Having reviewed the latest management forecasts, the board said it is now in a position to reinstate guidance for the 2020 financial year and currently anticipates delivering second-half underlying EBIT broadly in line with the second half of 2019, which would deliver a result in excess of the average of current full-year market expectations.

Breedon anticipates that the average of current full-year market expectations for underlying EBIT is £57m, with a range of £49m to £70m.

The group said it continues to be reassured by the government’s restated commitment to investment in the UK’s infrastructure and by encouraging demand from the UK housing market, complemented by similar trends in the Republic of Ireland.

It added: “As a provider of an essential service, we have proved our ability to deliver a resilient performance despite unprecedented disruption, which gives us considerable confidence in the long-term outlook for our business. We plan to issue our customary trading update for the first 10 months of the year on 18 November 2020 and to announce our preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2020 on 10 March 2021.”