14th May 2015 06:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - Building products distributor SIG PLC on Thursday said its like-for-like revenue in the first four months of 2015 was flat, as a solid performance in the UK and Ireland was offset by weakness in Europe.
FTSE 250-listed SIG said the flat like-for-like revenue performance compared to 9.3% growth a year earlier. Total revenue was boosted this year by acquisitions, but this was offset by adverse exchange rate movements, notably the depreciation of the euro, the company said.
Like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland were up 2.8% in the period, up 1.3% in the UK and rising 21% in Ireland. The UK arm started the year well but sales slowed in March and April due to lower collected sales in SIG's roofing arm and a softer commercial market, which SIG noted was attributed by many market observers to pre-election uncertainty.
In mainland Europe, trading conditions continue to be mixed, SIG said, with like-for-like sales falling 3% in the period, compared to 6% growth a year earlier. Though an improvement on the 7.4% decline in the fourth quarter of 2014, sales fell in France and Germany, the company added.
SIG said it expects its results for the full year to be more weighted to the second half than in 2014, due to the continuing mixed market conditions and the expectations that a weak euro will eat into revenue growth over the course of the year.
Despite that, SIG said its expectations for the full-year remain unchanged.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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