4th August 2006 - Tarmac interim results

Tarmac Ltd is reporting strong operating profits of $152 million in the six months to July 2006, in line with business expectations.

Commenting on the interim results, chief executive Robbie Robertson, said:

"This has been a busy period for Tarmac - as we have carried out our restructuring and in particular as we progress the divestment of some under-performing assets in the UK and overseas.

"The market conditions for asphalt and products sold into house building remain difficult. In particular, high energy costs continue to affect our profitability despite the fact that we have been able to partially mitigate these costs with savings of $24 million since the start of the year."

Earlier this year, Tarmac announced the successful sale of its UK-based TopPave and Minerals and Materials businesses. Overseas, Tarmac also completed the sale of its concrete business in India and the sale of other non-core assets in Hong Kong and Germany are nearing completion.

Tarmac continues to invest in the development of its UK-based road recycling capability, with the acquisition of state-of-the-art plant and equipment. The business has also announced plans to invest more than £20 million over the next five years to strengthen its national mortar business, including the creation of a new dry silo mortar plant in Colchester, which opened earlier this year. In Europe, the business has entered two new countries, Romania and Turkey, this year and continues to strengthen its businesses in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Robbie Robertson concludes:

"The strategy review is complete and I am confident that, over the past two years, we have laid sound foundations for future improvement and growth."

Following the announcement of Robbie Robertson's intention to retire at the end of 2006, David Weston, president of Shell Canada Products Ltd, will become chief executive officer of Tarmac with effect from 1 October 2006, to effect a smooth handover.