Building materials company Brickability Group has issued a warning that it's suffering from falling sales and expects earnings to be lower than first thought.
The news caused the firm's shares to plummet by up to 15% in Tuesday morning's trading. The company revealed brick sales have been "significantly" down throughout the past year.
Shipments across the UK were down around 30% last year and importing into the UK fell by 42%. Brickability also admitted that their sales are reflecting these market trends, with pricing becoming more competitive due to less demand.
They expect demand for bricks and building materials to stay low until the end of the financial year in March, with the recovery predicted to take longer than expected. This could lead to full-year underlying earnings being "towards the lower end" of the £46.2 million the market had forecasted.
Brickability noted: "Whilst it is encouraging that the rate of inflation is trending down favourably and the widely expected fall in interest rates will benefit the wider market, trading conditions are expected to remain challenging for longer than initially anticipated."
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"As a result, the board now considers it appropriate to assume a more conservative profile for the group's recovery over the next 12 months. The underlying long-term demand for UK housing remains robust, and the group is well placed to benefit significantly as the market and volumes recover."
The alert comes while the UK's building industry struggles with various problems including rising costs and higher interest rates. Mortgage companies have also tightened up lending. These problems have slowed down the market for fixing up homes.
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