SIG First Half Profit Dragged Down by Weak Demand

Building materials supplier SIG plc reports a pre-tax loss of £21.6 million in its latest trading update, dragged down by weak demand and rising costs.

In the six months to 30 June 2026, the company’s turnover fell to £1.29 billion from £1.3 billion in H1 2025.

Underlying operating profit was £10.5 million, down from £15.4 million the previous year, but slightly beating analysts’ £10 million forecast.

Weak Activity

SIG says the results reflect “continued softness in construction activity across most markets” which it expects to persist this year and “possibly throughout 2027”.

To accelerate efficiency, the company has launched a cost-cutting improvement plan which is expected to save £100 million by the end of 2027.

Pim Vervaat, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The Group delivered a resilient performance in the first six months of the year despite challenging markets exacerbated by poor weather in the first quarter. For FY 2026 we are expecting to deliver c.£25m of operating profit whilst improving the Group’s net debt position in the second half.

“The markets are not anticipated to recover during the remainder of 2026 and possibly throughout 2027. Against this backdrop we are accelerating and extending our self-help plan which aims to generate cash of at least £100m by the end of 2027 and improve the underlying operating profit by £50m (run rate mid 2028), reducing the Group’s leverage to below 3.0x.

“The Group has, and expects to maintain, a healthy level of liquidity going forward. The Vision 2030 strategy is making good overall progress towards building a higher quality European specialist distribution platform aiming to generate 3% to 5% operating margin through the cycle whilst generating cash.”

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