Eurocell reports 'positive' start to year

Eurocell updated the market on its trading performance for the first four months of 2017 on Friday morning, in advance of its annual general meeting which was being held during the afternoon in Alfreton.

The London-listed firm said it had a “positive” start to 2017, and current trading was consistent with the board’s expectations for the full year.

“In the profiles division, our larger fabricators continue to grow strongly, taking a greater share of the available volume mix,” Eurocell’s board said in its statement.

“We are building our prospect pipeline and will be moving a number of new customers onto our product systems over the remainder of the year.

“In the building plastics division, trading in the expanding branch network continues to be strong.”

The company said raw material price pressure remained, particularly for resin, and it was implementing selling price increases to mitigate that.

The market lagged supplier price increases, and Eurocell said it was managing its underlying operating costs tightly.

“We have made good progress with key strategic initiatives, which include expanding the branch network.

“[We are] on track to open 30 new branches in 2017, with 10 new sites so far this year.”

Eurocell’s other strategic initiatives included recycling, with the use of recycled material increasing as anticipated, as well as acquisitions, where the integration of security hardware was progressing in line with the board’s plans.

“Overall, we have made a good start to the year and are taking share in a broadly flat RMI market.

“We will announce our half year results for the six months ending 30 June on 2 August.”