Halstead on track despite tough times

NORTH West commercial flooring giant James Halstead said today it remained “fully confident” of meeting its targets, despite an increasingly tough domestic market.

The Radcliffe-based group said trading in the six months to June 30 had been testing, with a number of major contracts delayed, even in the public sector: “The  last six months have seen a number of school, hospital and government PFI projects being delayed or deferred and there has been a slowdown in sales.

“It is clear that in the UK the commercial flooring market, to the extent that it is a finishing trade to the new build construction sector, feels the effects of the recession later than others.”

Despite this setback the company said the refurbishment market was proving more robust.

While home fires were burning less brightly,Halstead said it had continued to see “good growth” in many overseas markets, including Germany, the largest overseas market.

With selling prices have been under pressure, due the recession, the group’s energy costs and raw material prices have come down.

“In addition, the performance of our outsourced flooring products, positive exchange rates and overseas earnings means that we are fully confident of meeting market expectations for the full year, ” the trading statement added.