Alumasc leaps on revenue growth, though profits slide

Shares in Alumasc surged on Thursday as it reported an increase in annual revenues and appointed two new executive group directors, though restructuring costs sent profits lower.

The building products supplier reported revenue of £90.1m for the year ended 30 June, up 4.0% compared to the year before, though profit before tax fell by 27.0% to £3.9m.

The fall in profit came as the AIM traded company said it faced weaker conditions in the UK construction sector and operating losses at Levolux as it restructured the business into a new building envelope division.

Restructuring at Levolux and other underperforming parts of the company resulted in one off costs of £2.5m but should yield cost savings of approximately £2m in the 2019/20 financial year, according to Alumasc.

The company held its total dividend for the year steady at 7.35p.

Paul Hooper, chief executive of Alumas, said: "We remain cautious about the current economic climate in relation to the new build construction markets, but have taken the right mitigating actions and believe that our strong market positions, innovative products and experience will stand us well for the year ahead."

Meanwhile, Alumasc also announced the appointment of Gilbert Jackson and Michael Leaf as executive group directors with immediate effect.

Jackson is currently the divisional managing director responsible for Roofing and Levolux, while Leaf has been managing director of Timloc Building since 2011, where he has overseen significant growth in both the revenues and profitability of the business.

Alumasc shares were up 10.34% at 96.00p at 1558 BST.