Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 9775S

SIG PLC

14 November 2013

 



14 November 2013

SIG plc

Interim Management Statement  

SIG plc ("SIG" or "the Group"), a leading distributor of specialist building products in Europe, with strong positions in its core markets of insulation & energy management, interior fit out and roofing products, today issues this Interim Management Statement for the period commencing 1 July 2013. 

Trading summary

Group sales from continuing operations for the year to October increased by over 3%, having benefited from exchange rate movements.

The improving Q2 sales trend continued into the second half of the year with like-for-like* (LFL) sales up by c.2% in the four months July to October.   LFL sales for the year to date however declined by c.1% due to the poor weather at the start of 2013.

In Mainland Europe, LFL sales for the last four months increased by c.0.5%, with Poland and Benelux exhibiting strongest progress.  LFL sales in France were also positive but in Germany were slightly down.

In the UK & Ireland LFL sales for July to October increased by c.3% and were up by c.7.5% in the UK excluding SIG Energy Management, which continues to be affected by the extremely slow start-up of the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO).

Gross margin for the Group continues to be slightly ahead of the same period last year.

Financial position

SIG has maintained its strong financial position and is on track to meet its target of c.1x leverage at the year end.

The Group successfully refinanced €100m of private placement (PP) notes, which matured on 1 November 2013, by issuing new PP notes with 7 to 10 year maturities at an average effective interest rate of 4.00%.  This extends the Group's debt profile to 2023.

Outlook

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.

Subject, as usual, to any exceptional adverse weather conditions in the remainder of the year, SIG is on track to meet its expectations in 2013.

Conference call

There will be a conference call for analysts and investors at 8.00am today to discuss the statement.  The dial-in details are: [phone], PIN 19243950#.

Capital Markets Day

SIG is holding a Capital Markets day on Thursday 28 November at 2.30pm in London at which it will present further details on its strategic initiatives to improve business performance.  A webcast of presentation will be available on www.sigplc.com following the event.

* like-for-like is defined as sales per day on a constant currency basis excluding acquisitions and disposals.

Enquiries

SIG plc

Stuart Mitchell, Chief Executive                                              + 44 (0) 114 285 6300

Doug Robertson, Finance Director

Simon Bielecki, Head of Investor Relations                           + 44 (0) 7515 794359

FTI Consulting

Richard Mountain/Nick Hasell                                                + 44 (0) 20 7269 7291

Cautionary Statement

This Interim Management Statement is prepared for and addressed only to the Company's shareholders as a whole and to no other person.  The Company, its directors, employees, agents or advisors do not accept or assume responsibility to any other person to whom this Interim Management Statement is shown or into whose hands it may come and any such responsibility or liability is expressly disclaimed.

Certain information included in this Interim Management Statement is forward looking and involves risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements.  It is believed that the expectations set out in these forward looking statements are reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of variables which could cause future outcomes to differ from those foreseen in forward looking statements, including but not limited to, changes in risks associated with the level of market demand, product availability and pricing, competitor risk, credit risk, credit insurance, restructuring of SIG and exchange rates.  More information about the risks and uncertainties that may affect the Group's performance is contained in the Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ended 31 December 2012.  All statements in this release are based upon information known to the Company at the date of this Interim Management Statement.  The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

END

 

 

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