Member Article

Sheffield’s SIG plc reports leap in pretax profit

Sheffield-based SIG plc, a distributor of specialist building products in Europe, has reported a leap in pretax profit to £41.5 million.

This is a 23.5% increase on the same six month period last year, where they reported profits of £33.6 million. Group revenue increased slightly, up to £1.28 million from £1.20 million.

The improvement in trading conditions experienced last year has gained momentum according to the firm, principally due to the revival of the UK housing market, although European markets are reportedly patchy.

In the first half of the year SIG acquired three businesses in the UK for a combined consideration of £5.2 million.

Stuart Mitchell, chief executive of SIG said: “The Group delivered a good first half performance having benefited from procurement savings, improving UK market conditions and the mild winter. This has been achieved while reinvesting in the business and commencing a culture change programme.

“We are pleased with progress on our strategic initiatives, which are ahead of our initial 2014 target. In particular we have exceeded our expectations for procurement and this has driven a 40bps improvement in gross margin in the first half.

“For the full year we now expect to deliver a net benefit of around £7 million, above the upper end of our previously stated £1-5 million range.

“Trading conditions in the UK have continued to gather momentum, led by the revival in the housing market. As anticipated, conditions in Mainland Europe remain variable, with the French construction market expected to weaken further in the second half.

“Although SIG is exposed to ongoing currency headwinds and a challenging market backdrop in France, the Group’s first half performance and progress on its strategic initiatives provide a strong base on which to achieve its full year expectations.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .