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Paving stone maker Marshalls has reported a 1% rise in full year pre-tax profit to £42.1 million.

Revenues were up 6.6% to £402.9 million, compared to £378.1 million last time, while basic earnings per share edged up by 4.6% to 21.28 pence. Shares were off 12 pence, or 4.5% in early trade to 252.3p.

The company said that last year began and ended positively, with momentum continuing into 2008. The public and commercial markets, which represent 55% of the group's revenue, remains robust and lead indicators are positive.

'We expect to deliver growth in 2008,' chief executive Graham Holden said in a conference call this morning. 'The outlook is positive for commercial and public sector business is positive, with good visibility of demand and expected benefits from the Olympics since late 2008.'

He said the domestic market is more difficult to predict due to the general uncertainty over consumer confidence and predicted flat sales for the year.