Marshalls still paving the way to recovery
Britain may have been enduring dire rainy weather this month but last July was worse, according to the boss of outdoor paving and landscape firm Marshalls.
Chief executive Graham Holden said this summer's rain should not make any material difference to the company's performance, unlike the severe ice and snow in January.
Marshalls took a one-off £2 million hit as the January weather hit everything from digging for stone in quarries to garden installations.
Holden added that Marshalls' sales had recovered since because there had been relatively little rainfall.
Pre-tax profits slipped 16% to £7.5 million after exceptional items in the six months to June. Revenues rose 2.3% to £169.8 million.
Holden was cautiously upbeat, saying the commercial division, which represents around 31% of revenues, returned to growth in the first quarter for the first time in two years.
He expects "mildly positive" growth in commercial and the key residential markets to offset any fall in public-sector projects, which have represented about a quarter of income.
Holden said Marshalls was benefiting from building projects at the Olympic Park and Stratford village, which are worth a seven-figure sum. London's 2012 organisers have become the first clients to buy Marshalls' new anti-terror security bollard.
The shares lost 1.5p to 87p as profits fell just below expectations. Analysts at Panmure Gordon reckon the firm is on course to meet full-year forecasts and is well positioned "when a real and sustainable recovery occurs".
