Floorcoverings group on a roll after strong year-end trading

A strong end to 2017 has helped Coleshill-based floorcoverings group Headlam recover from a poor start to its second half.

The company, Europe’s largest distributor of floorcoverings, said in a trading update for the year to December 31, 2017 that the recovery had helped the group achieve growth.

It said the first four months of the second half of last year had been characterised by weaker markets.

“However, the trading performance improved in November and December relative to the first four months of the second half,” it said.

“This led to an overall positive result for the year, with total revenue growth of 2.1% (1.2% in constant currency and like-for-like revenue growth in the UK and Continental Europe of 0.5% and 4.2% respectively.”

It said its focus on improving margins and efficiencies throughout the year had more than offset the slightly lower than originally anticipated revenue growth.

It now expects to report that underlying pre-tax profit for the 12-month period will be comfortably in-line with market expectations.

The consensus market expectations were for pre-tax profit of £42.5m, which represents a 6% uplift on the prior year.

Following the acquisition in December of Domus, the UK’s leading specification consultant and supplier of hard surfaces for premium construction and refurbishment projects, Headlam said it would be hosting a Capital Markets event for analysts and institutional investors in London on January 30, where it would offer a detailed overview of Domus’s operations and marketplace, as well as the strategic rationale and benefit of acquisition to the core business.

The group has also announced a series of board changes.

Amanda Aldridge will become a Non-Executive Director, and a member of the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees, with effect from February 1, 2018.

A former partner at KPMG, she brings a wealth of financial and sector experience gained through her work as an auditor and risk consultant.

Additionally, Dick Peters, the company’s Non-Executive Chairman, has informed the company that after 12 years as a member of the board, he intends to step down from his role on May 31, 2018.

Philip Lawrence, a Non-Executive Director since June 2015 and current Chairman of the Audit Committee, will succeed him on June 1, subject to his re-election as a director at the company’s AGM in May.

Following this appointment, Ms Aldridge will assume the role as Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Headlam chief executive Steve Wilson said: “I would like to offer my sincere thanks and gratitude to Dick for his invaluable contribution to Headlam over the past 12 years. He has been pivotal in shaping the company’s strategic direction and the overall development of the corporate governance framework, both of which have been instrumental in supporting Headlam’s ongoing development.

“I am delighted to be welcoming Philip to the position of Non-Executive Chairman after three years on the board, which ensures an orderly succession and allows the business to build on Dick’s legacy and Philip’s in-depth knowledge.

“Finally, it gives me great pleasure to be welcoming Amanda to the board, and I am sure her considerable experience and knowledge will be enormously helpful as Headlam pursues its strategic ambitions.”

The company will announce its final results for the year ended December 31, 2017 on March 6.