TIDMVCP
RNS Number : 8948K
Victoria PLC
07 September 2021
For Immediate Release 7 September 2021
The information communicated within this announcement is deemed
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market
Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
Victoria PLC
('Victoria', the 'Company', or the 'Group')
AGM statement - Strong Growth Continues
Victoria PLC (LSE: VCP) the international designers,
manufacturers and distributors of innovative flooring, is pleased
to announce the following trading statement ahead of its AGM to be
held later today.
-- Trading continues to be solid, with consumers continuing to
invest in their homes and commercial demand for flooring returning.
Year-to-date, revenues are c.+70% ahead of the same period last
year (c.+50% on a like-for-like basis excluding the impact of
acquisitions), and more than 50% ahead of the same period in 2019.
This is despite the extended and on-going lockdowns in Australia,
that have materially affected sales in that division, which
normally makes up c.15% of Group revenues (although the experience
of the last 18 months suggests that the impact of the Australian
lockdowns will be sales deferred, rather than sales forgone).
-- Inflationary pressures on raw materials experienced earlier
in the year have abated somewhat, although, at the time, the Group
took action promptly to broadly maintain operating margins.
-- The Group's investment in its UK logistics operation
continues to pay dividends, with the superior service Victoria
provides to customers driving an increased share-of-wallet.
-- The acquisitions in Italy, the Netherlands, and the USA, as
announced earlier in the year are performing in line with
expectations. In particular;
o The synergies being realised as the operational integration
moves forward in Italy are better than expected by management. It
has become clear that, with the completion of some minor upgrades,
the clay atomizers acquired as part of Santa Maria will be capable
of servicing more production than anticipated - reducing the cost
of clay, the single-most important raw material in a ceramic
tile.
o Work is already underway to distribute certain products
manufactured in the Group's European factories into the USA via the
Cali on-line business.
o Consumer demand for Cali's unique LVT (luxury vinyl tile)
products continues to exceed management expectations. Consequently,
LVT sales now amount to more than 10% of Group revenues.
o The continued growth of our artificial grass business (annual
revenues now exceed EUR80 million), with the addition of the most
premium brands in this product category (Royal Grass and Edel
Grass), has enabled some margin-enhancing vertical integration in
fibre extrusion. There is further strong growth potential with this
product category as consumer demand continues to grow.
-- The Group continues to be involved in active negotiations on
several high quality, value-creating acquisition opportunities, and
has the capital in place to execute on them.
The Group will provide a full update on trading for the 26 weeks
ended 2 October 2021 when it announces its Interim Results in
November.
Victoria's Annual General Meeting at 1.00pm today, is being held
at the office of Brown Rudnick LLP, 8 Clifford Street, London, W1S
2LQ.
For more information contact:
Victoria PLC
Geoff Wilding, Executive Chairman
Philippe Hamers, Group Chief Executive
Michael Scott, Group Finance Director +44 (0) 1562 749 610
Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser
and Joint Broker)
Rick Thompson, Phil Davies, Alex Bond +44 (0) 207 496 3095
Berenberg (Joint Broker)
Ben Wright, Mark Whitmore, Tejas Padalkar
Peel Hunt (Joint Broker)
Adrian Trimmings, Andrew Clark +44 (0) 203 207 7800
Buchanan Communications (Financial PR) +44 (0) 207 418 8900
Charles Ryland, Chris Lane, Vicky Hayns,
Tilly Abraham +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
About Victoria
Established in 1895 and listed since 1963 and on AIM since 2013
(VCP.L), Victoria PLC, is an international manufacturer and
distributor of innovative flooring products. The Group, which is
headquartered in Kidderminster, UK, designs, manufactures and
distributes a range of carpet, flooring underlay, ceramic tiles,
LVT (luxury vinyl tile), artificial grass and flooring
accessories.
Victoria has operations in the UK, USA, Spain, Italy, Belgium,
the Netherlands and Australia and employs approximately 3,800
people across more than 25 sites. Victoria is the UK's largest
carpet manufacturer and the second largest in Australia, as well as
the largest manufacturer of underlay in both regions.
The Group's strategy is designed to create value for its
shareholders and is focused on consistently increasing earnings and
cash flow per share via acquisitions and sustainable organic
growth. (Further information about Victoria can be found on its
website, www.victoriaplc.com .)
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END
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