Eurocell flags tough market amid subdued housing repair, maintenance activity
28/01/2025 11:39
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Britain's Eurocell ECEL.L , the
maker and distributor of window, door and PVC roofline products,
said on Tuesday it expects near-term outlook to remain
"challenging", hurt by subdued activity in home repair and
improvement market.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT?
Companies such as Eurocell, which have significant exposure to
the housing sector, have been grappling with challenging market
conditions for most of last year as elevated interest rates and
macroeconomic difficulties dented consumer sentiment. This has
led to a reduction in non-essential spending, including those
for home repair, maintenance and improvement works.
In her October budget, UK finance minister Rachel Reeves
confirmed that a key tax benefit for first-time homebuyers will
cease from April this year.
BY THE NUMBERS
Eurocell's group sales for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024 were 358
million pounds ($445.1 million), down 2% on the prior year.
The company also estimated additional costs of about 3
million pounds per annum stemming from employers' National
Insurance and National Living Wage changes, announced in the
autumn budget, which take effect from April 2025.
MARKET REACTION
Shares in the FTSE Small Cap .FTSC firm fell as much as 8.2%
to a near five-month low of 145 pence.
The stock was down 4.4% by 1139 GMT and was the top
percentage loser on the Small Cap index.
($1 = 0.8042 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shailesh Kuber)
((abyjose.koilparambil@thomsonreuters.com;))