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Headlam confirms decline in 2024
January 23, 2025
Top UK flooring distributor Headlam has confirmed the impact of tough trading conditions in 2024 with a forecast of revenue down nearly 10% for the year.
In a pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 December 2024, Headlam said revenue for the full year declined 9.7% to £593 million.
"Good growth in revenue from the strategic growth areas of larger customers and trade counters was offset by the impact of the weak market conditions on the regional distribution business," said the company's statement to investors.
"Group revenue in H2 2024 declined by 7.4% compared to an 11.8% decline in H1 2024. The Group expects the underlying loss before tax for the year to be circa £34 million, subject to audit."
The new expectation for its pre-tax loss is slightly better than the company's expectations when it reported on trading in December. The final results will be reported in March.
Headlam is positive about the progress it is making in ite transformation plan which includes the consolidation of 32 trading businesses into one single, national business trading as Mercado and the simplification of its distribution network and with centralising its buying and stock control systems.
"The Board remains encouraged by the significant progress we are making against our strategy and transformation plan to simplify our operations and improve our customer offering. In light of the additional market headwinds, we are extending this programme to target greater benefits over the next two years," said the company's statement to shareholders in December.
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