Howden Joinery cautious about 2012

Howden Joinery, which supplies kitchen, bathroom cabinet and joinery products to small builders and trade professionals, said it continued to perform well despite ongoing difficult trading conditions.

The group, which operates out of 500 depots across the UK, said revenue from Howden Joinery UK depots rose 6.2% between the end of the first half of the year and the end of October from the corresponding period last year.

The increase in revenue was higher than the underlying increase seen in first half of the year, after it hiked prices at the start of the second half, Howden explained.

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Its gross margin performance is in line with market expectations for the year.

In the first 44 weeks of 2011, ending 29 October, Howden Joinery UK depots' revenue was up 5.6%, and up 3.2% on a same depot basis.

Since its last update in July, Howden has opened six new depots, resulting in eleven depots being opened so far this year.

However Howden said it remains cautious about the outlook for 2012, given the continuing uncertainty about the prospects for the economy.

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