Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index report finds total revenue up

The latest Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index report shows that total value sales in April 2023 through specialist plumbing and heating merchants were up 2.6%.

Sales in April were 20.5% lower than March and volume dropped by 19.1% with prices down by 1.7%.

However, total sales between February 2023 and April 2023 were 5.6% higher than the same period a year ago. Volume sales were down 2.1% while prices were up 8.2%.

The PHMI for April was 92.1. compared to 105.7 the previous year.

Mike Rigby, CEO of MRA Research, said: “April sales volumes were down 4.7% on April last year, and down 19.1% on March this year as economic uncertainty, high inflation and rising interest rates continue to hit new housing and private housing RMI (Repair, Maintain and Improve) work, particularly in the private sector. It is worth remembering that the private housing new build and the private housing RMI sector together account for around 40% of total construction output, according to the Construction Product Association.

“There was some good news for homeowners in April, a hiatus in the government’s planned raise to the Energy Price Guarantee, but this will do little to ease the pain of those struggling with tracker mortgages and the cost of living, which is fast outstripping earnings.”