Epwin Hails "Pleasing" Interim Performance In Tough Environment

(Alliance News) - Building products maker Epwin Group PLC said Thursday the first half of 2019 delivered a "pleasing" performance despite tough market conditions, with revenue and profit performance in line with market expectations.

For the six months ended June, revenue held firm as expected at GBP140.0 million from GBP140.5 million the year prior. On a like-for-like basis, revenue was "marginally" ahead of the year before.

Adjusted pretax profit, meanwhile, was forecast to be "in line" with market expectations for both the first half of the year and the full year. For the year ended June 2018, adjusted pretax profit stood at GBP6.4 million.

During the period, the site consolidation and efficiency improvement programme was described as going "to plan" and its new PVC decking and aluminium window system have been been rolled out and showing "very encouraging" initial customer interest.

Despite this, the key markets for the AIM-listed firm were said to be "weak", with the building products sector shrinking during the first six months of 2019. What is more, the general economic backdrop in the UK remains "uncertain" with low customer confidence and real wage growth.

Longer term, however, the prospects for the firm and the market "remain positive", driven by under-investment in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector.

Epwin emphasised it remained financially "strong" with "good" cash generation and net debt levels of GBP29.2 million, slightly higher than the GBP28.6 million the year prior.

"In a challenging market the group delivered a pleasing performance in the first half of 2019, in line with market expectations," Epwin Chief Executive Officer Jon Bednall said. "Trading has been robust and we have made significant strategic progress with new product launches, the continued reshaping of the group's footprint and the acquisition of PVS."

"Current trading is line with the board's expectations, and while we remain cautious about macro-economic conditions, we expect to make further strategic progress in the remainder of the year and are confident about the group's longer-term prospects," Bednall added.

Shares in Epwin were 0.6% lower at 72.30 pence in London on Thursday.