Epwin trading well after acquisitions

(ShareCast News) - Vertically-integrated manufacturer of low maintenance building products, Epwin, posted a trading update for the year to 31 December on Wednesday, reporting that profits for the year will be in line with expectations, with "continued strong" cash generation in "challenging" market conditions.The AIM-traded company said the performance of recent acquisitions continued to be encouraging.It said it was continuing to make progress with its strategy focussed on operational improvement, broadening the product portfolio, selective acquisitions and cross selling.The roll out of its Optima window system had now been completed, and was reportedly very well received by the market.Epwin's board said it remained confident in the long-term market drivers for the firm's products, and believed there was still pent-up demand in the RMI sector as well as wider opportunities in the long term for the group and its customers.The long term impact of the outcome of the EU referendum on consumer confidence and demand remained unclear, the board cautioned, but input costs had increased as a result of a weaker sterling since June 2016 and the group was continuing its efforts to mitigate that."2016 was another year of progress for Epwin," said CEO Jon Bednall."We grew profits and had strong cash generation in challenging market conditions."This reflects our strategy to broaden our product portfolio organically and through acquisition, enhance cross-selling and improve our operations."Epwin said it will announce its full year results for the year on 6 April.