Marshalls reports record performance amid challenging market

Construction products specialist Marshalls announced strong full-year results on Wednesday, with revenue growing 22% to £719.4m, aided by the acquisition of Marley Group.

The FTSE 250 company said the acquisition of Marley played a significant role in its financial growth in 2022, with adjusted operating profit rising 31% to £101.1m.

Statutory operating profit stood at £47.9m, however, down from £76.2m in 2021.

Adjusted profit before tax showed an impressive 23% increase, reaching £90.4m, while statutory profit before tax was £37.2m, down from £69.3m, due to the impact of adjusting items worth £53.2m.

Marshalls also reported a 7% increase in adjusted basic earnings per share to 31.3p, with statutory earnings per share at 11.4p, down from 27.5p.

The company's net debt stood at £191m on a pre-IFRS 16 basis, and leverage was 1.35x adjusted pro forma EBITDA.

Marshalls proposed a final dividend of 9.9p per share, bringing the total full-year dividend to 15.6p, a 9% increase compared to 2021.

Looking ahead, the board said it remained confident in the group's ability to deliver long-term profitable growth as market conditions improved.

It said it would continue to focus on key strategic initiatives in the short-term while acknowledging the challenging macroeconomic climate.

The directors said they remained optimistic about delivering results in line with its expectations, assuming a progressive improvement in end markets during the year.

“Marshalls reported a record financial performance in 2022 against challenging market conditions,” said chief executive officer Martyn Coffey.

“This performance demonstrates the benefit of the group's deliberate diversification strategy, illustrated by the acquisition of Marley in 2022 and other acquisitions in recent years that now form the core of our building products segment.

“We took decisive action to reduce our capacity and cost base in 2022 in response to a contraction of demand in our landscape products business, and we will continue to focus on maintaining flexibility to respond to evolving market conditions and executing self-help initiatives as required.”

Coffey said the company’s strategy was underpinned by its strong market positions, established brands and focussed investment plans to drive ongoing operational improvement.

“Notwithstanding short-term challenges, the board remains confident that the Group is well placed to deliver profitable long‑term growth when market conditions improve and continues to focus on its key strategic initiatives.”

At 1007 GMT, shares in Marshalls were down 2.6% at 291.63p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.