Building materials group Hanson recorded a one per cent increase in pre-tax profits after facing "difficult trading conditions".
The company, which employs 900 people at 45 sites in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Sussex and Hampshire, said it had been hit by higher fuel costs, unseasonable weather and some softer markets.
The firm is operates waste disposal sites in Oxfordshire as well as 16 concrete plants and ten quarries.
Hanson Concrete Products, at Sutton Courtenay, near Abingdon, is the UK market leader in concrete blocks and drainage products and Hanson Aggregates' Cassington quarry, which is the region's largest sand and gravel quarry, has unearthed archaeological treasures including a Roman causeway.
Pre-tax profits before one-off items came in at £318.2m, just 1.2 per cent higher than the figure for 1999.
Hanson said it had successfully completed the acquisition of Australian group Pioneer during the year and would concentrate on generating value from its existing assets during the coming year.
Chief executive Andrew Dougal said: 2000 was a good year for Hanson in spite of difficult trading conditions."
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