Price increases help flooring group maintain growth

FLOORCOVERINGS group Headlam expects to exceed market expectations after it continued its run of strong trading this year.

The remaining weeks of the final quarter, typically its busiest period, are important to the business because of the high volume of small residential orders it usually sees. However it expects its underlying results for 2016 to be ahead of current consensus market expectations.

The Coleshill company increased prices in August to mitigate the impact of the weaker pound and said “pleasingly” it has had no adverse impact on revenues.

For the 10-month period to October 31, total revenue was up approximately 5.2% against the same period in the prior year. This reflected “a continued strong performance” from its UK and continental European businesses, although its overseas performance had seen “a slight softening in performance when measured in local currency”. However UK sales account for 88% of ths group’s revenues.

In September Headlam Group, which is Europe’s largest distributor of floorcoverings, announced its chief executive for the last 16 years, Tony Brewer, was stepping down.

He has been replaced by Steve Wilson, who had been the group’s finance director for the previous 25 years.