14th Nov 2013 07:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - SIG PLC, a distributor of specialist building products, said that it is on track to meet its expectations in 2013, subject to any exceptional adverse weather conditions in the remainder of the year.
In its Interim Management Statement for the period commencing 1 July 2013, the company noted that Group sales from continuing operations for the year to October increased by over 3%, having benefited from exchange rate movements.
The improving the second-quarter sales trend continued into the second half of the year with like-for-like or LFL sales up by about.2% in the four months July to October. LFL sales for the year to date however declined by about.1% due to the poor weather at the start of 2013.
The firm noted that Gross margin for the Group continues to be slightly ahead of the same period last year.
The company said it has maintained its strong financial position and is on track to meet its target of about1x leverage at the year end.
"The recovery in the UK construction market continued to gather pace in the second half driven by increased demand from the residential sector, although this has yet to be seen in the non-residential sector. While the Group's recent performance in Mainland Europe has improved, market conditions there are expected to remain variable," the company noted.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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