31st Mar 2014 10:44
LONDON (Alliance News) - Windows and doors maker Safestyle UK PLC Monday reported strong revenue growth in 2013 as its gained market share, improved margins and the number of orders and instillations picked up, however the retailer said its pretax profit for the year was flat due to listing costs from its recent admission to AIM.
The manufacturer and retailer - which listed on AIM in December last year - reported a 13% increase in revenues for the year ended December 31, 2013, to GBP124.8 million, up from GBP110.2 million in 2012.
Its pretax profit for the year was flat at GBP9.5 million, due to admission costs to AIM and the settlement of a historic tax planning scheme with HMRC of GBP3.1 million, said the firm.
Excluding costs relating to admission fees and a historic tax settlement, the group reported a pretax profit of GBP15.0 million, a 58% increase on the GBP9.5 million reported a year earlier.
The group, which said it has adopted a progressive dividend policy, proposed a dividend of 5.5 pence per share for the year, and gave a confident outlook for the business in the year ahead, as the general economy and the home improvement market continue to recover.
"Turning to prospects, the recovering UK economy, with improving home-owner sentiment, coupled with the progress in our business, means that we are very well placed to enjoy a period of further success. Order intake in the first two months of the year has been strong and we have made an encouraging start to the year," said Chairman Steve Halbert in a statement.
Safestyle UK said that manufacturing increased during the year, with 250,185 frames produced, up 7.5% from 232,687 in 2012, whilst the number of installations increased by 9.4% to 55,112.
It said average unit sales price also increased by 5.5% to GBP496, up from GBP470 the prior year.
The maker of uPVC windows is one of the biggest in the market, and has continued to increase its market share, despite the market shrinking since the start of the financial crisis in 2007. The group said that during the year it increased its market share to 7.85%, up from 7.49% a year earlier.
"This increased penetration is a reflection of Safestyle UK's focus on its core products, its integrated sales and low cost manufacturing approach and its continued geographic expansion," said Chief Executive Steve Birmingham in a statement.
The group has continued to expand into the south and south east of England.
In 2013, the group said it carried out more than 55,000 home installations comprising over 250,000 glazed window and door frames.
Safestyle UK said that leads generated from media and online marketing grew by 17% to 47,660 during 2013.
The Group purchased the freehold of its head office in Bradford and manufacturing facility in South Yorkshire during the year. It said the cost of this investment was GBP4.0 million, and accounted for the majority of the GBP5.1 million spent of capital expenditure during the year.
Safestyle UK shares were up 2% Monday morning at 184.55 pence per share.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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