Window maker confirms losses in half-year interim results

Safestyle confirmed half-yearly losses this morning of £6.7m in its  interim results covering the six months to the end of June.

Shares in the Bradford-based double-glazing firm dropped to an all-time low last week when the firm issued a trading update warning of annual losses up to £10m.

The firm said trading conditions remained difficult, and while its order intake went to plan until early August, since mid August its order intake had fallen by 11% year on year. It said it continued to try to stimulate demand and purchase intent through a combination of online activity, deployment of an upgraded website, discount management and its consumer finance portfolio.

Revenues were down 5% to £74.1m in the first half. The firm’s net cash reserves fell from £13m to £1m during the period.

Chief executive Rob Neale said, “As has been widely reported, the first half of 2023 saw continued economic uncertainty and depressed consumer confidence, which resulted in another challenging period for the business. I would like to thank our hard-working people for their ongoing dedication and resilience during this time. As outlined in our most recent trading update, we have continued to work hard to mitigate these ongoing headwinds and we remain focused on delivering on our strategic efficiency and cost reduction programme that will deliver annualised reductions of c.£2.8m.

“I am pleased that we continue to grow our market share and I remain confident that the business is well-positioned to deliver a strong recovery when macro conditions improve.  The volume of the UK’s aging housing stock in need of repair remains one of the most compelling opportunities for the business in the medium-term and I believe that the progress made against our core strategic priorities will stand us in good stead as we look to the future as the UK’s market leader.”