Polypipe confident as market looks flat

Plastic piping and ventilation systems manufacturer Polypipe Group updated the market on its trading on Tuesday, as investors gathered for its annual general meeting, with the board saying it remained “confident” of delivering its full-year 2018 expectations.

The FTSE 250 company said revenue for the four months ended 30 April was 0.9% lower than the prior year at £135.7m.

It said adverse weather conditions in late February and March impacted its customers' ability to work on site, reducing revenue by approximately £8m.

Underlying revenue growth, excluding the impact of the adverse weather, was said to be around 5.0%.

The firm said trading in the latter part of April, after the effects of adverse weather had passed, was consistent with this adjusted growth rate.

It said its Residential Systems segment continued to deliver strong organic revenue growth, driven by a buoyant new house build market.

Revenue performance in its Commercial and Infrastructure Systems segment experienced a continuation of the trends highlighted in March at the full-year results, with project delays in road and other commercial projects impacting short-term performance.

Looking ahead, Polypipe said the latest forecasts from the Construction Products Association showed a “broadly flat” construction market for 2018.

“The board believes that with continued focus on the core elements of its strategy the group remains well placed to grow revenue ahead of the market,” Polypipe said in its statement.

“The board remains confident of delivering its full year 2018 expectations.”