Weakness in the European construction market has led to a fall in like-for-like revenues at building products supplier SIG, though the group says the decline is easing.
New third quarter trading figures for the Sheffield-based group show a 4% fall in revenue to £662m in the three months to the end of September, compared with the same period last year. SIG characterised it as a “sequential improvement” compared with its first half figures, in which like-for-like revenues were down 12%.
Bosses said the group was performing well relative to its markets and was under way with cost saving and efficiency work they said would support better profitability as markets recover. Underlying operating profit for the full year is expected to be between £24m and £27m.
SIG sought to paint a positive picture across the quarter, pointing to improved results on the first half in the UK, Ireland and Benelux operations as well as its French roofing business. However, like-for-like revenue fell 5% in the UK and 2% in Benelux but increased 20% in Ireland.
The group’s Polish business saw a 9% like-for-like decline as bosses said the country’s non-residential market slowed more than expected during the summer. Meanwhile a German e-commerce platform was successfully launched during the quarter.
SIG said: “Whilst weak demand has continued to be a factor in the majority of the group’s markets, reflecting the ongoing softness in the European building and construction sector, LFL performance improved sequentially in Q3 as expected. This was despite the effect of strategic branch closures, which form part of the restructuring programmes in the UK, Germany and France, and which impacted the group LFL performance by c1% in the period.
“Deflationary headwinds moderated further in the period, to c2%, and there has been some encouraging stabilisation in overall volumes, which are down only 1% excluding the branch closure impact.”
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
