Norcros wins planning for Stoke development scheme
NORCROS, the company which supplies showers, tiles and adhesives, has won approval for a plan to turn a former tile works at Tunstall in Stoke-on-Trent into a retail park.
The company has a conditional contract in place to sell a supermarket site to a subsidiary of Morrisons for £8.25m. The planning consent also includes non-food retail, restaurant and leisure units, which the group is now marketing.
In an update to the Stock Exchange, the firm, which owns Stoke’s Johnson Tiles and Nuneaton-based Triton, said it expects to report a 9% rise in full-year earnings and to post revenues of £210m, up 5%, in the year to March. Underlying pre-tax profit, which strips out exceptional items, will be £11.7m, up 9%.
The company said its UK business had performed well despite continued tough markets. Sales dropped 4.5% at its Triton showers division but Norcros said it still gained market share and had a stronger second half.
Johnson Tiles and Norcros Adhesives “continued to deliver good growth throughout the year”. The group’s South African businesses also saw strong growth with sales up 19% after taking into account currency fluctuations.
The company added: “The recent weakness of sterling and rising energy costs have added to the already challenging outlook for our UK and South African markets. Nonetheless, our businesses have demonstrated their resilience and ability to gain market share.
“With the acquisition of the Vado business combined with the on-going programme of growth initiatives and self-help actions, the board remains confident that Norcros will continue to make further progress.”
Net debt at the year-end is anticipated to be around £31m, up from £17.8m largely due to the acquisition of Vado, a bathroom tap and mixer shower specialist, at the start of April. The firm will announce full-year results on June 13.
