James Halstead Regulatory News (JHD)

29 January 2018

JAMES HALSTEAD PLCPre Close Trading Statement

James Halstead plc, the commercial flooring manufacturer and distributor, is providing the following trading update ahead of its interim results for the half-year to 31 December 2017.

Turnover has increased by 5%, boosted by a strong December, and profit is in line with expectations and in excess of the comparative half-year. Having achieved revenue increases in the majority of our key markets, including Germany, the UK and Australasia, this has resulted in a record level of turnover in the half year.In his AGM trading update, on 1 December 2017, Mr. Geoffrey Halstead noted that trading to date had been in line with our budgets albeit against competitive headwinds. In particular, the central European markets (the principal of which is Germany) have been very competitive with very keen pricing. However, in early January a German manufacturer entered administration and announced the closure of its sheet vinyl and tile facility. This closure is expected to take place imminently and this should ameliorate the pricing pressures we have been experiencing.

Product development continues and we have refreshed some of our key ranges and presented them to the trade in recent weeks. Given the positive feedback, our confidence for the full year is unchanged and remains positive.