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RNS Number : 4854C  SIG PLC  30 April 2026

 

30 April
2026
 

SIG plc: Trading Update

 

SIG plc ("SIG", or "the Group"), a leading supplier of specialist insulation
and building products across Europe, today issues a trading update for 1
January to 31 March 2026 ("the period", or "the quarter"), in advance of its
Annual General Meeting, which is being held today.

 

Key points

 

 ·         Group like-for-like(1) ("LFL") sales declined 5% in the quarter, reflecting
           the continued subdued demand backdrop as well as unusually poor weather in the
           early part of the year

 ·         Trading started to improve from March, albeit recent global events have
           created additional uncertainty over the timing and shape of recovery across
           the Group's markets

 ·         The Group continues to execute on its initiatives to drive cost efficiencies
           and improve cash generation

 ·         Cash flow in the quarter was ahead of plan; the Group continues to expect to
           maintain healthy liquidity throughout the year

 

CFO succession

The Group has also issued an update on CFO succession this morning, and will
welcome Simon Kesterton as an Executive Director and CFO on 1 May 2026.
Further details are set out in that announcement.

 

Trading Summary

LFL sales in the quarter were down 5% year-on-year at £614m, with LFL volumes
also down 5%. Reported revenues were 3% down, reflecting a positive impact of
2% in aggregate from working days, exchange rates and net branch closures.

 

Pricing pressure remains elevated, and year over year pricing was flat in the
quarter, despite modest inflation on input costs as expected.

 

 1 January to 31 March 2026      LFL sales growth vs 2025  £'m

 UK Interiors                    (8)%                      160
 UK Roofing                      (1)%                      106
 UK                              (5)%                      266

 France Interiors                (5)%                      45
 France Roofing                  (4)%                      93
 Germany                         (10)%                     101
 Poland                          (3)%                      58
 Benelux                         13%                       25
 Ireland                         2%                        26
 EU                              (4)%                      348

 Group                           (5)%                      614

 

Demand in most markets remains well below historical levels, with European
construction experiencing a protracted cyclical low. As previously reported,
trading in the first weeks of 2026 was also adversely affected by particularly
poor weather across Europe. Against this backdrop our businesses generally
continue to outperform their markets. Benelux and Ireland delivered LFL
growth, and Poland and UK Roofing demonstrated improving performance through
the quarter to finish only marginally down on prior year. The French, German
and UK Interiors businesses were significantly impacted by both the poor
weather and subdued market conditions.

 

Actions to mitigate the ongoing demand weakness and to strengthen our
operating platform are ongoing. Alongside targeted investment to support our
strategic growth opportunities, the benefits from productivity, cost and
working capital initiatives, including those arising from the increased focus
on procurement, will contribute incrementally as the year progresses.

 

The recent increases in oil and gas prices are driving additional increases in
input costs in the near term and we expect to pass these through in a timely
manner.

 

Outlook

At this stage it is too early to predict the extent and nature of potential
impacts from recent global events, notably the Iran war, which add to the
uncertainty over the timing and shape of recoveries in market demand across
Europe.

 

The Group's overall trading started to improve from March, with a LFL decline
of 2-3% now expected over March and April in aggregate. Prior year comparators
start to ease slightly from May, and this is expected to lead to further
improvement in LFL numbers over the balance of the year. However, the Group
continues to anticipate softness in market conditions in 2026, particularly in
H1.

 

Q1 underlying(2) operating profit was lower than the prior year, given the
sales decline, and we consequently expect H1 profit to be lower than H1
2025.  We are continuing to target a robust performance for the full year
2026, with an increased weighting to the second half, and expect to maintain
healthy levels of liquidity throughout the year.  Cash flow in the early part
of the year has been ahead of plan, and the £90m RCF has remained undrawn.

 

The operational gearing in our business model applies equally strongly in
conditions of rising demand, and the Group remains well positioned to benefit
from the market recovery when it occurs. This also underpins the Board's
confidence that the Group will deliver its targeted 3-5% operating margin
range in the medium-term. This, combined with the increasing focus on
portfolio optimisation under our Vision 2030 strategy, will support the
Board's overarching goal of delivering meaningful value creation over the
medium and long-term.

 

H1 Results date

We will publish our H1 2026 results on 4 August 2026 and will hold a
presentation and conference call for analysts and investors on that date.
Details will follow nearer the time.

 

 

1.      Like-for-like is defined as sales per working day in constant
currency, excluding completed acquisitions and disposals, and adjusted to
exclude the net impact of branch closures and openings.

2.      Underlying represents the results before Other items. Other items
relate to the amortisation of acquired intangibles, impairment charges, net
restructuring costs, cloud-based ERP implementation costs, costs associated
with refinancing and other specific items.

 

Contacts

 SIG plc                                                   +44 (0) 114 285 6300 / ir@sigplc.com
 Pim Vervaat                     Chief Executive Officer

 Ian Ashton                      Chief Financial Officer

 FTI Consulting                                            +44 (0) 20 3727 1340
 Richard Mountain / Vicky Hayns

LEI: 213800VDC1BKJEZ8PV53

 

 

Cautionary Statement

This document contains certain forward-looking statements concerning the
Group's business, financial condition, results of operations and certain
Group's plans, objectives, assumptions, projections, expectations or beliefs
with respect to these items. Forward-looking statements are sometimes, but not
always, identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as
'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', 'could', 'may', 'will', 'would', 'should',
'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'potential', 'targets', 'goal',
'forecasts' or 'estimates' or similar expressions or negatives thereof.

 

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors, which may cause the Group's actual financial condition,
performance and results to differ materially from the plans, goals, objectives
and expectations set out in the forward-looking statements included in this
document.

 

All written or verbal forward-looking statements, made in this document or
made subsequently, which are attributable to the Group or any persons acting
on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors
referred to above. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that the
forward-looking statements in this document will be realised; actual events or
results may differ materially as a result of risks and uncertainties facing
the Group. Subject to compliance with applicable law and regulation, the Group
does not intend to update the forward-looking statements in this document to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document and does not
undertake any obligation to do so.

 

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