Grafton Group
plc
Trading
Update
Grafton Group plc ("Grafton" or "the
Group"), the international building materials distributor and DIY
retailer, issues this Trading Update for the period from 1 January
2024 to 21 April 2024 ahead of the Annual General Meeting ("AGM")
of the Company that will be held today at 10.30am in the Irish
Management Institute (IMI) Conference Centre, Sandyford Road,
Dublin 16, D16 X8C3, Ireland.
Shareholders can find guidance on
attending the AGM virtually in the Notice of 2024 AGM which is
located at
https://www.graftonplc.com/investors/shareholder-services/shareholder-meetings/
Trading and Performance
Group revenue in the period from 1
January 2024 to 21 April 2024 was £669.2 million, down 5.0 per cent
from £704.3 million in the prior year and by 3.3 per cent in
constant currency. Softer trading in the seasonally
less important early months of the year was influenced by
prevailing macroeconomic conditions in the Group's individual
markets and exceptionally wet weather in Ireland and the UK which
impacted demand. Overall activity in the Group's businesses
remained subdued in the period with average daily like-for-like
revenue down by 4.5 per cent on the prior year.
In Ireland, Chadwicks encountered
materials price deflation of circa 6.0 per cent but continued to
benefit from an improving trend in volumes and a favorable
macroeconomic backdrop. The provision of housing remains a
public policy priority with Ireland's new Taoiseach raising the
build target for new homes over the next five years to 250,000
which compares to 32,700 new home completions in 2023. Demand
conditions in the UK RMI market remained weak with materials price
deflation of circa 3.5 per cent and adverse weather conditions also
contributing to the decline in revenue. In the Netherlands, lower
revenue from smaller customers and timber factories was largely
offset by revenue growth generated by large construction
projects. The slowdown in the Finnish economy and
construction sector continued to impact volumes in IKH.
The Woodie's DIY, Home and Garden
business in Ireland had a positive start to the year with revenue
growth driven by an increase in both transaction numbers and in
average basket size.
In UK Manufacturing, as expected and
previously flagged, CPI Mortars experienced a sharp decline in
volumes in line with the fall in house building activity.
Volumes were also lower in StairBox as demand for bespoke
staircases declined in a weaker residential RMI market.
Segmental Trading
The table below shows changes in
average daily like-for-like revenue and in total revenue compared
to the same period last year.
Segment
|
Average Daily Like-for-Like
Revenue
Change*
|
Total Revenue
Change
|
Constant
Currency
|
Actual
(Sterling)
|
|
1 January
to 21 April
2024 v 2023
|
1 January
to 21 April
2024 v 2023
|
1 January
to 21 April
2024 v 2023
|
|
|
|
|
Merchanting
|
|
|
|
-
UK
|
(8.0%)
|
(6.2%)
|
(6.2%)
|
-
Ireland
|
0.6%
|
2.5%
|
(0.6%)
|
-
Netherlands
|
(2.8%)
|
(4.0%)
|
(6.9%)
|
-
Finland
|
(8.2%)
|
(5.7%)
|
(8.5%)
|
Retailing
|
3.2%
|
2.3%
|
(0.7%)
|
Manufacturing
|
(21.7%)
|
(17.0%)
|
(17.2%)
|
Group
|
(4.5%)
|
(3.3%)
|
(5.0%)
|
*Constant
currency
Share Buybacks
The fourth share buyback programme,
launched on 31 August 2023, was extended to 31 May 2024 and the
maximum aggregate consideration increased from £50 million to £100
million. This programme completed on 30 April 2024 and
involved the repurchase of 11.1 million ordinary shares at an
average price of £9.02 per share.
Additional cash of £343.3 million
was returned to shareholders through share buybacks completed
between 9 May 2022 and 30 April 2024 reflecting the repurchase of
40.27 million ordinary shares at an average price of £8.53 per
share. The number of shares bought back amounted to 16.8 per cent
of the shares in issue when the first buyback programme commenced
on 9 May 2022.
Eric Born, Chief Executive Officer of Grafton Group plc
commented:
"Trading in the period continued to
be challenging in most of our markets and revenue trends were also
impacted by price deflation and exceptionally wet weather in
Ireland and the UK. Looking ahead, whilst we are not expecting a
sustained recovery in our markets in the short term, we do expect
profitability to be slightly more weighted than usual to the second
half.
"We remain focused on being the
providers of choice for our customers, investing in our brands and
maintaining tight control of costs. We are confident in the
underlying demand fundamentals and the medium-term outlook for our
markets and on the opportunities provided by our cash generative
business and a healthy balance sheet."
Ends
For further information please
contact:
Investors
|
Media
|
|
|
|
|
Grafton Group plc
|
+353 1 216 0600
|
Murrays
Pat Walsh
|
+353
1 498 0300
+353
(0) 87 226 9345
|
Eric Born
|
Chief Executive Officer
|
|
|
David Arnold
|
Chief Financial Officer
|
Buchanan
Helen Tarbet
Toto Berger
|
GraftonGroup@buchanancomms.co.uk
+44
(0) 7872 604 453
+44
(0) 7880 680 403
|
|
|
|
|
About Grafton
Grafton Group plc is an
international distributor of building materials to trade customers
and has leading regional or national positions in the distribution
markets in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Finland. Grafton is
also the market leader in the DIY, Home and Garden retailing market
in Ireland and is the largest manufacturer of dry mortar and
bespoke timber staircases in the UK.
Grafton trades from circa 360
branches and has circa 9,000 colleagues. The Group's portfolio of
brands includes Selco Builders Warehouse, Leyland SDM, MacBlair, TG
Lynes, EuroMix and StairBox in the UK; Chadwicks and Woodie's in
Ireland; Isero and Polvo in the Netherlands; and IKH in
Finland.
For further information visit
www.graftonplc.com