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Lords Group Trading PLC shares dived on Thursday as it said the UK construction market has been ‘more challenging’ since the late summer due to uncertainty ahead of the government budget later this month. In response, shares in Lords Group Trading plunged 29% to 22.00 pence on Thursday afternoon in London. The London-based distributor of building materials said revenue increased by 9.6% in the four-month period to the end of October compared to the previous year. The firm said the UK housing market has ‘continued to be impacted’ by uncertainty from potential property tax reforms in the upcoming autumn budget. The company said repair, maintenance and improvement demand has ‘remained subdued’. Like-for-like revenue in the Merchanting division, which was 12% ahead in the first half of the year, was 1.8% down from the previous year in the four months to the end of October. Lords said it has delivered a gross margin improvement of 50 basis points compared to a year ago. The Plumbing & Heating division, which grew by 2.4% in the first half, saw like-for-like revenue fall 8.3% in the following four-month period. The company said it has not yet experienced an increase in Plumbing & Heating demand, which is typically expected in the autumn and winter months. Lords said the Digital division, formed with the recent acquisition of CMO, saw its revenue increase month-on-month throughout the period. It delivered its first profitable months as part of the company in both September and October. As a result, Lords said it expects to report full-year revenue between £480 million and £485 million, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation between £20 million and £21 million. For financial 2024, the firm reported revenue of £436.7 million with adjusted Ebitda of £22.4 million. ‘After delivering strong revenue growth and resilient results in [the first half of 2025], the UK construction market, as widely reported, has been more challenging since the late summer, and there has been reduced activity during the seasonally strong autumn months in our core markets, as consumers and businesses await the outcome of the next fiscal budget,’ said Chief Executive Officer Shanker Patel. ‘Whilst we’re pleased to see an overall increase in group revenue on an absolute basis, this was mainly due to CMO which was profitable in September and October for the first time since acquisition,’ Patel added. ‘We continue to defend gross margin with the strengths of the group’s proposition, tightly control costs, and to optimise working capital. ‘Whilst recovery in our core markets is taking longer than had previously been expected in our peer group, we are confident that Lords is very well positioned to deliver operational leverage and continue to execute its strategic combination of organic and acquisitive growth.’ Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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