LOSSES AT building materials group Readymix continued to widen in the first half of the year, the company said yesterday.

In a trading update, the company said revenues declined by 24 per cent during the first half of the year, leading to a pre-tax operating loss (before exceptional items) of approximately €7 million, compared with a €6.1 million loss it reported for the same period last year.

Once exceptional items are included, Readymix expects its total losses to increase to approximately € 20.4 million for the first six months of the year, up from a comparable loss of €6.6 million reported for the same period in 2010. The substantial increase in losses is largely due to a charge of €12.7 million the company took on June 30th, following a mid-year impairment review of the carrying value of its property, plant and equipment.

“Recent plant closures, commitments to future plant closures, valuations received related to the provision of security for the closure of the Republic of Ireland defined-benefit pension schemes, and the further general deterioration in aggregates markets, were key factors in this decision,” the firm said.

Other exceptional items include rationalisation costs of €2.7 million, and a net gain of €2.9 million related to the closure of the aforementioned pension schemes.

In May the company announced it was in talks about disposing certain material assets and subsidiaries, and yesterday it said these discussions were continuing.

Looking to the rest of 2011, the board expects difficult trading conditions to persist and will continue to “closely monitor asset values”.