Market challenges push SIG into the red in first half

A first-half pre-tax loss of £11.3m on turnover of £1.32bn has been posted by insulation and building materials distribution giant SIG for the six months to June 30 2024.

The same period last year reported a pre-tax profit of £12.2m and turnover of £1.4bn.

The downturn in fortunes has been blamed on “challenging market conditions across Europe”, in particular affecting the interiors division. In the UK, revenue was down 9%, with the interiors division recording a 14% drop in sales to £250m.

Gavin Slark, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our results in the first half reflect the prolonged challenging market conditions we are currently facing across most of our European businesses. In light of these conditions, we took further actions to reduce our permanent cost base in the half, which will benefit us in the future.

“During the period, we also made further progress on our strategic initiatives to improve our underlying operations and to position us to capture additional growth when markets improve.

“The Board believes the Group remains well positioned to benefit from the market recovery when it occurs.”