UK building products group Heywood Williams has announced pretax profit of GBP 9.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2007, compared to GBP 8.7 million for the previous year.
Chief executive Robe…
UK building products group Heywood Williams has announced pretax profit of GBP 9.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2007, compared to GBP 8.7 million for the previous year. Chief executive Robert Barr said 4 March 2008 that the group is currently trading in line with its plans and will continue to demonstrate its resilience. He said the group has leading market positions, a record of strong cash management, an excellent new product pipeline and specific plans are being implemented to reduce costs by low cost sourcing and rigorous cost management. In the UK and Europe it is well positioned with its strong market shares and low cost sourcing capabilities to continue to take share in key markets. It is anticipated that Carlisle Brass will demonstrate further growth, he said. The fabricator market in the UK/Ireland will be challenging as there are clear signs that consumers are being much more cautious about home improvement projects and there has been a noticeable reduction in UK housing transactions, which is an important factor in the home improvement market, he said. In North America, the latest market feedback indicates that the manufactured housing market will remain at considerably subdued levels throughout 2008. In February 2008, the MHI (Manufactured Housing Institute) estimated that the number of new units completed in 2008 would be up 3.4% to 99,000 units compared to 2007, he said. The institutes view is that this outcome would be at the top end of its current expectations. The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association is predicting a 4% market decline linked to weaker consumer confidence. The respective industry associations both anticipate further market growth from 2009 onwards, he said. Chairman R. F. Boyes said that 2007 was a year when trading was satisfactory, given the market conditions. The company“s market specialist hardware distribution businesses in the UK and Europe had an excellent year which helped to partially mitigate the effects of a difficult manufactured housing market in North America. Heywood Williams expects further good progress from Avenco acquisitions in 2008, as its new ranges of emergency door hardware and Carlisle Design GroupTM pre-packed hardware are launched in both markets, he said. Carlisle Brass performed very well in 2007, with double digit sales growth including a strong performance in the 4Q.