Marshalls hit by second-quarter downpour

Marshalls, the landscape, driveway and garden products firm, says it's been hit by the wettest second quarter on record and a deteriorating outlook for the construction sector.Revenue for the six months ended June 30th was £167.5m, a decrease of 5% on the same period of last year.Sales to the public sector and commercial markets, which represent 62% of sales, were down 2% but sales to the UK domestic market (34% of sales) were down 14% compared with the prior year. The record rainfall seen between April and June resulted in approximately £10m in lost sales. "Continued progress" has been made in developing the International business which is approaching 5% of group sales.Commenting on the results, Marshalls' Chief Executive, Graham Holden, said: "Despite the weakness in the economy Marshalls continues to strengthen its market position and there has been an improvement in underlying trading margins."At 09:59 the shares were down 1.2% and have now fallen 11.6% so far in 2012.BS Marshalls