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* Group warns 2019 profit to fall below estimates
* Shares drop 12% after warning, peers also fall
* Weak demand in UK, Netherlands hurt Q3 revenue
(Adds industry-wide details, details of Q3 results, share move)
By Yadarisa Shabong
Oct 17 (Reuters) - Building materials firm Grafton Group Plc
warned on Thursday that its annual profit would miss
expectations, as the UK construction sector grappled with
uncertainties linked to Britain's looming exit from the European
Union.
The news follows a similar warning last week from smaller
peer SIG Plc, which is battling weak demand and a dim
economic outlook in the UK and Germany.
Shares in Grafton lost as much as 12%, with peers SIG,
Travis Perkins Plc, Howden Joinery Group Plc
and B&Q-owner Kingfisher Plc all lower.
The Ireland-based company, in an unscheduled update, said
that trading towards the end of the September quarter had been
more difficult despite a good performance in its home market.
With Britain facing a multitude of uncertainties surrounding
Brexit and slower global growth, the company said volumes had
been hurt by weak underlying demand as Britons deferred spending
on home refurbishment.
Britain's construction slump deepened in September, with the
commercial and civil engineering sectors contracting at the
fastest in around 10 years ahead of the country's exit from the
bloc, according to a survey.
Grafton also said demand for its materials has been hit by a
court ruling on nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands, which has
delayed the granting of permits for new construction projects.
Around 18,000 building projects in the Netherlands, worth
billions of euros, risked being shelved after its highest court
ruled in May that the way Dutch builders and farmers dealt with
nitrogen emissions breached European law.
Last month, a slew of weak manufacturing and service sector
data across the globe shook markets, denting the outlook for the
world economy already battered by ongoing Sino-U.S. trade
tensions and Brexit uncertainties.
Grafton, which operates across the merchanting, retailing
and manufacturing sectors, said it expects full-year operating
profit for continuing operations to be 4% to 8% below current
consensus of about 193.5 million pounds ($246.81 million).
The company, which also makes dry mortar in the UK, said
like-for-like revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 grew
less than 1% due to weaker sales in its merchanting and
manufacturing markets.
($1 = 0.7840 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi
Aich, Bernard Orr and Jan Harvey)
