Beast from the East hits SIG

Insulation giant SIG '‹said it expects a stronger second half of the year after poor weather conditions in the UK hit sales in February and March.

Much of the country was brought to a standstill during the Beast from the East snow and freezing cold weather, which had a big impact on construction.

Sheffield-based SIG said like-for-like revenues fell 4.4 per cent in the UK & Ireland in the first four months of 2018 following a significant adverse impact from poor weather conditions in the region during February and March.

The group's Exteriors business was also hit by weak market conditions in UK commercial new build and the Repair, Maintenance and Improvement (RMI) markets.

SIG will tell shareholders at its AGM in Sheffield at noon today that group revenues from continuing operations increased by 2.2 per cent in the first four months of the year, with currency contributing 2.0 per cent to growth.

The group's Mainland Europe business continued to perform well, with like-for-like revenues up 3.8 per cent during the period. Whilst construction activity in France has been affected by the recent increase in industrial action, and like-for-like sales in the group's Air Handling business are dependent on the phasing of project revenues during the year, growth remained strong across Germany, the Benelux and particularly Poland.

SIG said trading conditions remain mixed across the group's markets, with continued confidence across Mainland Europe and Ireland but ongoing challenges in parts of the UK construction sector.

The group told shareholders: "We continue to progress our plans to deliver a significant improvement in our operational and underlying financial performance, as well as focusing the portfolio and reducing leverage.

"We expect a stronger second half to the year, reflecting both normal seasonality and the benefit of ongoing cost and margin actions coming through in the second half.

"Providing there is no further deterioration in UK market conditions, our expectations for underlying profitability for the full year remain unchanged."