By Anthony O. Goriainoff
SIG, a U.K.-based building-materials supplier, announced a decline in pretax profit for the first half of the year due to increased costs. The company expects challenging market conditions to persist in the second half, accompanied by a further moderation in price inflation. However, SIG anticipates benefiting from productivity initiatives in the second half and projects that its full-year underlying operating profit will align with guidance.
During the six months leading up to June 30, pretax profit amounted to £12.2 million ($15.6 million), compared to £26.2 million during the same period the previous year. Revenue increased from £1.36 billion to £1.42 billion.
For the same period, underlying operating profit, which excludes exceptional and other one-off items, was £32.7 million, down from £42.5 million.
In July, SIG projected that its 2023 underlying operating profit would likely fall toward the lower end of a range of analysts' expectations, which spanned between £65.3 million and £84.0 million, with a consensus estimate of £74.2 million.
"The group is well-positioned financially and commercially to generate significant value for our shareholders in the medium and long term," stated Chief Executive Gavin Slark on Tuesday.
