Howden Joinery Share News (HWDN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Kitchens and joinery products supplier Howden Joinery Group PLC on Thursday said its performance in 2016 to date has been in line with expectations, after seeing good progress on the implementation of a price increase.

The FTSE 250-listed company said revenue from its UK operations in the sixteen weeks to April 16 was up 8.7% on the corresponding period a year earlier, which, on a same depot basis, represented a 6.4% increase. Howden Joinery said this would indicate that market conditions are stable, but added that the group "remains watchful".

Howden Joinery said that currency movements have affected its cost of goods sold during the period, but said it has seen good progress on the implementation of a price increase in the year so far.

The company added it was on track with its plans to open 30 new depots in the UK this year, having already opened six so far. It is now trading from 625 depots in the UK, Howden Joinery said.

Howden Joinery noted that, as part of its GBP70.0 million share buyback programme announced in February 2015 and the GBP55.0 million share buyback programme announced in February 2016, it has acquired 11.2 million shares in the year to date, for which the consideration was GBP52.8 million.

Howden Joinery said this was equivalent to GBP25.0 million of the GBP70.0 million programme and half the GBP55.0 million programme.

By Hannah Boland; hannahboland@alliancenews.com; @Hannaheboland

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