Headlam floored by uncertainty

Chief executive Steve Wilson pointed to Brexit uncertainty as a key reason for weak domestic performance that included flat revenues in the retail market and a 4 per cent decline in domestic revenues for the residential flooring business. A circa 25 per cent reduction in sales through homeware store B&Q, which is consolidating its supply base, also brought orders down, along with snowy weather in the first half and would-be consumers’ enthusiasm for the summer football World Cup. Management says that uncertainty has caused flooring business Domus, which was acquired in 2017, to underperform.

There is better news in Ipswich. The group has received planning approval for a new distribution centre, which will cost £26m and generate annual savings of around £1m. Chief financial officer Chris Payne says that the facility is needed to replace old infrastructure, but admits that this “is not at the sexy end of the return range”. In France, Headlam replaced the managing director of its French business after years of watching the business “slowly ebb away”.

Analysts at Peel Hunt forecast full-year 2019 pre-tax profits of £39m and EPS of 37.3p, down from £44m and 42.4p in the prior year.