Trading Update and Notice of Interim Results

RNS Number : 6852T

Lords Group Trading PLC

26 July 2022

 

For immediate release

26 July 2022

Lords Group Trading plc

('Lords', the 'Group' or the 'Company')

Trading Update and Notice of Interim Results

Lords, a leading distributor of building materials in the UK, is pleased to provide the following trading update for the six-month period ended 30 June 2022 (the 'period' or 'H1 2022') ahead of the publication of its interim results on 6 September 2022.

Highlights

· Trading in line with market expectations for FY22, being revenue of £435.0 million (FY21: £363.3 million), adjusted EBITDA of £26.0 million (FY21: £22.3 million) and adjusted profit before tax¹ of £16.0 million (FY21: £10.2 million), with positive H1 2022 momentum carried into the beginning of the second half

· Group revenue for the period increased 19.9% to £214.7 million (H1 FY21: £179.0 million) with the divisional and like for like ('LFL')² breakdown as follows:

Revenue by division:	H1 2022 £m	H1 2021 £m	% Growth	% LFL Growth
Merchanting	105.9	61.1	73.2%	14.5%
Plumbing & Heating	108.7	117.9	(7.8)%	(12.5)%
Total Group	214.7	179.0	19.9%	(3.3)%

· Adjusted EBITDA³ for the period is expected to be up approximately 33% to c.£14.0m (H1 2021 reported: £10.5 million⁴). Management actions taken in H1 2022 continue to ensure profitability is upheld in Plumbing & Heating

· Integration of all five acquisitions since IPO in July 2021 are now complete and all performing in line with management expectations

· Group remains on track to deliver strategic targets of £500.0 million revenue in 2024 and 7.5% EBITDA margin in the medium term

Trading performance and strategic progress

Overall Group trading was strong in the first half of the year with total revenue growth of 19.9%.  This positive momentum has continued in to H2 2022 as the Group continues to execute its strategy, through organic levers including product range extension, new site openings, and digital and operational leverage and in executing value added acquisitions.

Demand for the Group's Merchanting division has continued to be strong, as Lords continues to take advantage of its brand's successful positioning as the local market leaders in premises across the UK.  The strength of the Group's brand and local market presence has positioned the Group well.

Performance in Lords' Plumbing and Heating division ('P&H') has proven resilient and customer demand remains strong.  Management actions taken in H1 2022 continue to ensure profitability is upheld despite the industry wide boiler component shortage which management expects to ease during H2 2022.

Product range extension allows the Group's brands to secure a greater share of their customers wallet, whilst also attracting new customers.  During the first half the Group has added ranges to support the decarbonisation of the UK housing stock, including heating controls, air source heat pumps and underfloor heating within its P&H division.

The Group is also pursuing new locations for its brands that offer EBITDA margin accretion and 20%+ return on investment.  During H1 2022 the Group has delivered the following locations:

· Advance Roofing Supplies, an acquisition completed in Q1 2022, has now been implanted into Lords Builders Merchants Beaconsfield site, offering customers a logical product range extension and increasing the returns on that site

· George Lines, the Group's specialist civils merchant brand, has expanded by opening a third location in Horsham

· Mr Central Heating, our leading multi-channel Plumbing & Heating brand supplying the installer and end user customer segments, is due to open its tenth branch in West Bromwich in Q3 2022.

Notice of Interim Results

There will be a conference call for analysts at 09.00hrs on the day of the interim results on 6 September 2022, which will be hosted by Shanker Patel (CEO) and Chris Day (CFO).  Please contact Buchanan at [e-mail] if you would like to receive details.

For retail investors, the Group will also be presenting its H1 2022 results via the Investor Meet Company platform and a further announcement detailing the specific timing for this will be issued in due course.

Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Lords Group Trading plc, said: "As we complete our first twelve months trading on AIM, it is fantastic to reflect on the financial and operational progress that Lords has achieved and, on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all our colleagues across the UK for their continued hard work and commitment.  I am also delighted with our strategic progress in the first half of 2022 and we have a substantial opportunity to grow the Group's current < 1% market share through bringing in new customers, a greater share of customer wallet, product range extension, new geographies, digital capability and valued added acquisitions.

"We have demonstrated that we are able to consistently grow our Group revenues and profitability as we deliver both our organic and inorganic growth strategies.  Our size, reach and product range are ensuring the strength of our proposition continues to stand out in our markets despite ongoing macro-economic uncertainties."

Notes:

¹ Adjusted PBT (basic) is defined as profits before tax before amortisation of goodwill.

² Like-for-like is defined as revenue growth for the period excluding the impact of acquisitions and new branch openings

³ Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, share option expense, acquisition costs and exceptional items, and is stated on an IFRS basis.

4 Adjusted EBITDA for the 6 months ended 30 June 2021 currently expected to be restated as £11.0 million in the Company's interim results to be published on 6 September 2022.

- Ends -

FOR FURTHER ENQUIRIES:

Lords Group Trading plc	Via Buchanan
Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Chris Day, Chief Financial Officer
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Ben Jeynes / Max Gould / Dan Hodkinson (Corporate Finance)
Alex Pollen (Sales)

Berenberg (Joint Broker) Matthew Armitt / Richard Bootle / Ciaran Walsh	Tel: [phone]
Buchanan Communications	Tel: [phone]
Henry Harrison-Topham / Stephanie Whitmore / Kim Looringh-van Beeck / Abby Gilchrist	[e-mail]

Notes to editors:

Lords is a specialist distributor of building, plumbing, heating and DIY goods.  The Group principally sells to local tradesmen, small to medium sized plumbing and heating merchants, construction companies and retails directly to the general public.

The Group operates through the following two divisions:

· Merchanting: supplies building materials and DIY goods through its network of merchant businesses and online platform capabilities.  It operates both in the 'light side' (building materials and timber) and 'heavy side' (civils and landscaping), through 30 locations in the UK.

·  Plumbing and Heating: a specialist distributor in the UK of plumbing and heating products to a UK network of independent merchants, installers and the general public.  The division offers its customers an attractive proposition through a multi-channel offering.  The division operates over 15 locations enabling nationwide next day delivery service.

Lords was established over 35 years ago as a family business with its first retail unit in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.  Since then, the Group has grown to a business operating from 45 sites.  Lords aims to become a £500 million turnover building materials distributor group by 2024 as it grows its national presence.

Lords was admitted to trading on AIM in July 2021 with the ticker LORD.L.  For additional information please visit www.lordsgrouptradingplc.co.uk .

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information pursuant to Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended.  Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

END

 

 

MSCSEMESIEESEFW