1st Mar 2012 07:00
For immediate release | 1 March 2012 |
Superglass Holdings PLC
("Superglass" or the "Group")
Period end trading update
Superglass Holdings PLC, the UK's leading independent manufacturer of glass wool mineral fibre insulation products, today releases a period end trading update in advance of its interim results for the six month period ended 29 February 2012, scheduled for release towards the end of April.
Sales in the first half of the current financial year are significantly ahead of the equivalent period last year, albeit behind the budgeted level. Inevitably, the widely-known financial difficulties experienced by Superglass prior to the successful recapitalisation at the end of 2011 have impacted adversely on trading during the first half of the financial year; and it is taking time to rebuild confidence amongst our customer base and channel partners. The resulting shortfall in sales has, however, been partially mitigated by lower costs.
The drivers of activity in CERT are continuing to strengthen, resulting in strong growth in this channel over the past eight weeks. There is now clear evidence that energy suppliers have increased their efforts to achieve the mandatory CERT targets by the end of 2012.
Sales pricing levels in the UK have also improved following the general market increase in October and a further increase in February should address some of the significant cost inflation which has impacted Superglass over the past 18 months.
With increased volumes from CERT, increased selling prices and the benefits of sales specification activity beginning to take effect, results for 2011/12 will, as expected, be strongly second half weighted.
The Group's net debt position is better than projected at the time of the recapitalisation , largely as a result of tight controls on working capital. Our major capital investment programme, Project Phoenix, is progressing to schedule and within budget. The planning phase was completed in December and negotiations are ongoing with key suppliers. Implementation of key projects is expected to commence as planned during April .
We are still at an early stage in implementing the recovery plan and Superglass continues to operate against a background of challenging market conditions, exacerbated by recent uncertainty over the potential impact of the transition from CERT to Green Deal. It is too early at this stage to assess what might be the real impact of this transition when it takes effect at the beginning of 2013. Overall, the Board views the progress achieved during the three months since the recapitalisation as satisfactory.
For further information, please contact:
Superglass Holdings PLC |
|
Alex McLeod, Chief Executive Officer
| 01786 451 170
|
Buchanan Communications |
|
Diane Stewart, Tim Anderson, Carrie Clement
| 0207 466 5000 / 0131 226 6150 |
N+1 Brewin |
|
Sandy Fraser | 0131 529 0385 |
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