SIG Plc Shares Edged 2.66% Higher on Mixed Half-Year ’23 Results

The SIG plc (LON: SHI) share price edged 2.66% higher after announcing its half-year results for the six months ended 30 June 2023. The company revealed that its revenues for the period were £1,423.4 million, which slightly improved from the £1,358.5 million recorded in H1 2022.

The international supplier of insulation, commercial interiors, roofing, and specialist construction products revealed that its like-for-like sales were flat for the period, driven by weaker trading conditions across all geographies. The company’s LFL sales fell by 0.2% compared to last year’s 21.2% growth.

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Furthermore, the company noted that inflation tailwinds had moderated as expected, with the group reporting an underlying operating profit of £33 million based on an operating margin of 2.3%. The company noted that disciplined cash management had resulted in net debt of £468.8m post‐IFRS 16. 

SIG plc noted that it had experienced a challenging operating environment but that LFL sales performance in its key UK and France markets remained resilient, with UK Interiors up 4% and France Exteriors up 2%. 

The company noted that its operating margins were temporarily impacted negatively by the challenging business environment and higher-than-normal operating cost inflation. Still, France had resilience at c5%, and Germany and UK Interiors improved margins year-over-year.

SIG Plc issued an outlook indicating that it expects the market conditions to remain challenging across the Group’s geographic end markets in the second half, in addition to a further moderation in price inflation. 

Gavin Slark, SIG Plc’s CEO, said: “Our performance in the first half reflects the challenging market conditions we are currently facing, with the Group’s LFL revenue growth flat year-on-year.  Despite these conditions, I’m very pleased with the progress we are making on many fronts to improve the business, notably with the initiatives across our Operating Companies to improve our ability to drive higher levels of profitable growth when market conditions recover.  In the first half, these initiatives reflected a continuing focus on our people, our branches, and our productivity, creating a platform that will allow us to capture and maximise the significant opportunities I see for the medium term.”

SIG share price. 

The SIG share price edged 2.66% higher to trade at 29.31p, from Monday’s closing price of 28.55p.