Sigmaroc. Share News (SRC)

(Sharecast News) - SigmaRoc reported a strong third quarter on Tuesday, with revenue and profit growth supported by cost discipline and synergy delivery, reinforcing confidence in meeting full-year expectations.

For the nine months ended 30 September, group revenue rose 6% year-on-year to £775m, while underlying EBITDA increased 17% to £192.9m.

The AIM-traded firm said ite EBITDA margin improved to 24.9% from 22.6% a year earlier.

On a pro-forma basis, revenue slipped 1% to £771m, but underlying EBITDA rose 5%, with margins up 150 basis points to 24.9%.

The board said it remained confident in full-year performance and expects earnings per share of no less than 9.5p.

SigmaRoc said it had seen "encouraging developments" in several markets.

The UK and Ireland continued to perform well, Belgium showed early signs of recovery, and optimism was returning in Germany amid increased residential planning approvals.

In the wider Central region, infrastructure and industrial activity remained consistent with first-half trends, with some weakness in Poland and temporary maintenance shutdowns among industrial customers.

Nordic markets traded as expected, with the company monitoring developments among its paper manufacturing clients.

The group said its synergy and self-help programmes had made "tremendous progress", contributing to the solid margin improvement.

Synergy delivery remained on track to reach at least £21m for the full year, while ongoing restraint in discretionary spending and tight cost control are expected to further enhance results.

"Through this third-quarter update the group demonstrates again how its agile structure and dedicated team is able to deliver in subdued markets," said chief executive Max Vermorken.

"The temporary volume weakness discussed in earlier updates persisted across Q3.

"The group took timely action with both synergies and self-help programmes."

Vermorken added that demand conditions were likely to remain steady in the fourth quarter but should strengthen over the medium term as European stimulus measures take effect.

"The German stimulus programme will bring much needed support to industrial Europe and the construction sector, further helped by actions taken by the European Union on steel imports.

"These trends could materially improve the trading environment for businesses like ours," he said.

At 1328 BST, shares in SigmaRoc were up 3.58% at 115.8p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.