Year End Trading Update

RNS Number : 1611Z

Eurocell plc

21 January 2022

 

21 January 2022

EUROCELL PLC

("Eurocell" or the "Group")

Year End Trading Update - Positive Finish to 2021, Strong Platform for 2022

Eurocell plc, the market leading, vertically integrated UK manufacturer, recycler and distributor of innovative window, door and roofline PVC products, provides the following update for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Summary

The strong sales performance previously announced for the ten months to 31 October continued through to the end of the year, supported by good underlying demand in our markets. We have taken effective action to mitigate ongoing cost inflation and supply chain pressures. As a result, we now believe profit before tax for the full year will be slightly ahead of current market expectations⁽¹⁾.

Trading Performance

Group sales for the six months to 31 December were up 23% compared to 2019 and 7% compared to 2020, with the latter reflecting a very strong second half in that year. For the year ended 31 December 2021, sales were £343 million, up 23% compared to 2019 and 33% compared to 2020. Divisional growth rates were as follows:

Sales growth	6 months to 31 Dec 2021	12 months to 31 Dec 2021	6 months to 31 Dec 2021	12 months to 31 Dec 2021
	vs 2019		vs 2020
Total Group	23%	23%	7%	33%
Profiles Division	24%	22%	14%	41%
Building Plastics Division	21%	24%	2%	28%

Whilst demand in the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) market has moderated from the unprecedented levels experienced in H2 2020 and H1 2021, this sector remains strong and customer demand levels are good going into 2022. We believe we are also continuing to take market share.

Group sales growth for the year ended 31 December of 23% compared to 2019 includes:

· Profiles up 22% - good contributions from trade fabricators, who are substantially focused on the RMI market, and another very strong performance from Vista doors. New build  enjoyed improved sales in the second half, as the house builders focused on achieving year end completion targets

· Building Plastics up 24% - good performance across our full range of own-manufactured products and traded goods, including more than 150% growth in outdoor living products, supported by a consistently strong order book. We opened 12 new branches in the year, 4 of which are the new larger format, taking the total estate to 219 sites

We have continued to secure the raw materials we require and we expect past constraints to ease over the coming months. We have mitigated raw material cost inflation with selling price increases and surcharges, with price inflation becoming a larger component of sales growth as the year progressed. We are also pleased to report that the actions we took in H2 2021 to secure more labour have ensured that we have the staff necessary to operate efficiently and support our growth aspirations.

Our market-leading recycling plants supported continuity of supply of resin in tight markets, whilst continuing to improve the proportion of recycled material used in our primary extrusion operations. These plants supplied 27% of our raw material consumption for the year (2020: 25%), driving significant cost and carbon savings compared to the use of virgin material.

Net debt at 31 December 2021 on a pre-IFRS 16 basis was c.£11 million (31 December 2020: £10 million), which includes the substantial impact of inflation on the components of working capital.

New Warehouse and Manufacturing Capacity Expansion

As previously reported, fit-out of our new state-of-the-art warehouse is now complete. As well as being central to increasing capacity, the facility is key to delivering further improvements in operational efficiencies as the new plant, systems and processes become embedded, and we are optimistic that operating performance will exceed our original expectations.

The 2021 manufacturing capacity expansion, including 5 new extrusion lines, together with the associated mixing plant upgrade and tooling, is also now complete. We plan to add a further 5 lines in 2022. Together, these investments increase extrusion capacity by more than 15%, thereby enabling future sales and market share growth.

Notice of Results

As previously announced, we expect to publish our results for the year ended 31 December 2021 on 18 March 2022.

Notes

(1)  Eurocell calculated analyst consensus profit before tax forecast for 2021 of £26.5 million.

Enquiries:

Mark Kelly, Chief Executive Officer	[phone]
Michael Scott, Chief Financial Officer	[phone]
Ben Foster (Teneo)	[phone]

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