Polypipe reports strong start to the year

Polypipe reported a jump in revenue for the first four months of the year and said it was well placed to deliver on its full-year expectations.

In a trading update for the four months to 30 April, the FTSE 250 manufacturer of plastic piping systems said revenue rose 32.5% from the year before to £148.9m.

Revenue at the UK operations, meanwhile, was up 33.6% to £128.1m thanks to a favourable market backdrop, re-stocking and additional stocking by merchant customers ahead of its price increases.

The company said its ventilation business, which now includes Nuaire, has also continued to perform strongly.

In mainland Europe, revenue was 24.7% ahead of the prior year at £21.2m, with the market in France appearing to stabilise and showing early signs of an upward trend.

Chief executive David Hall said: “Our growth initiatives combined with the continued positive fundamentals in our main UK market have delivered an excellent start to the year.

“Whilst we remain alert to the potential impact of continuing short term economic and political uncertainty in our core UK market, with this strong start we believe that the group is well positioned to deliver results for the full year in line with expectations.”

At 1000 BST, Polypipe shares were up 3.1% to 324.62p.