Subdued UK demand for flooring says Victoria
March 14, 2024
Major flooring conglomerate Victoria plc says wider market demand for flooring is 20% down with subdued but stable trading in the UK.
However, in a trading update to the City, Victoria was optimistic about the future saying "the medium-term macro-economic outlook is generally improving as well as key leading indicators for flooring demand."
These indicators cover housing transactions, mortgage rates, consumer confidence, employment, consumer savings, real wage growth and increased construction activity.
Victoria has already told the markets that its annual sales figures for the year ended 30 March 2024 will be below 2023 levels and has been working to maximise efficiencies and cost management across the Group, including a 16% reduction in workforce.
Executive chairman Geoff Wilding told investors: "We emphasise that we are not expecting some immediate improvement in flooring demand. However, we are confident of the impact on earnings and cashflow of management's actions, and are certain demand will inevitability revert to the long-term mean."
Meanwhile, the Group has said it will use cash generated from the sale of non-core and surplus assets to buy back up to £25m worth of shares which it believes are under-valued at present. It will also repay debt which was reported at a level of £670m in Victoria's half-year statement to September 30, 2023.
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