Manufacturer’s revenues fall as it focuses on improving margins

Pipe-maker Genuit’s revenues in the four months to the end of April have fallen to £183.7m, down 8.6% from the same period last year, the firm announced ahead of its AGM today.

But it said the fall is in line with expectations at a time of market softness, and improvements to its underlying margins continued as it pursues business simplification and develops lean projects.

The firm’s annual results in March showed a 6% fall in revenues, but a 7% rise in pre-tax profits.

Joe Vorih, chief executive of Genuit Group

Now the Leeds firm – previously named Polypipe – says its business simplification programme has completed with the closure of the final two out of six sites, realising £4.8m in cash from freehold sales, and it is on track to deliver the £15m of annualised savings it expected. It said the rollout of its Genuit Business System will realise further productivity gains.

Chief executive Joe Vorih said, “Genuit continued to make encouraging strategic and operational progress in the first four months of 2024, despite ongoing market softness, and our expectations for the full year are unchanged. We are continuing to benefit from our focus on business simplification, continuous operational improvement and product innovation which is driving an improved operating margin.

“Genuit is in a strong position to benefit from the normalisation of volumes as markets recover, and we continue to see growth potential in our markets due to the structural sustainability drivers to which we are exposed.”

Revenues were down 10.6% year on year in Genuit’s sustainable building solutions division, which account for 41% of its revenue, due to softness in housebuilding and repair and maintenance sectors.

Its climate management division, which provides 30% of group revenues, fared better with a 2.5% reduction in revenues as growth in its Nuaire ventilation business offset weakness in the boiler market.

Its waste management division dsaw a 12.1% reduction in revenues as wet weather adversely affected projects. However, the firm noted that the volume and intensity of wet weather in key markets underlined the need for stormwater solutions and would be a structural driver for future growth.