James Halstead Regulatory News (JHD)

25 Jul 2007 07:00

James Halstead PLC25 July 2007 25 July 2007 James Halstead plc Pre-close Trading Statement James Halstead plc, international manufacturer and distributor of commercialfloor coverings is issuing the following trading statement prior to entering theclose period ahead of its full year results for the year ended 30 June 2007.James Halstead plc will announce these results on 1 October 2007. The strong sales performance for the first half reported in March 2007 hascontinued into the second half of the year with all subsidiaries reportingturnover increases. The Continental European based subsidiaries, Australia andPhoenix are on line to report "like for like" double-digit sales growth. As noted in an earlier update the upgrade to the Polysafe facility, inManchester, was successfully completed in April 2007 and full production resumedahead of schedule with output increases and with the potential for furtherproduct development. The UK based manufacturing facility has continued to face raw material priceincreases and increased energy costs but with the increased sales ofcomplementary product manufactured elsewhere margins have been, at least,maintained. It is anticipated that the Group's pre tax profit for the year justended will be above market expectations. Enquiries: Mark Halstead, Chief Executive Telephone : 0161 767 2500 Gordon Oliver, Finance Director Amy Faulconbridge, Hudson Sandler Telephone : 020 7796 4133 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange