Howden Joinery sees annual profit at top end of forecasts

Howden Joinery said it expected annual profits to be at the top end of current analyst forecasts of £298m - £360m as the surge in DIY demand continued into the second half.

The company on Monday said revenue rose by a fifth from June 13 to the end of October driven again from pent-up demand from consumers working from home during the Covid pandemic. Compared with pre-crisis 2019 sales rose 35.7%.

“We remain watchful of the uncertainties ahead, including the economic outlook and the potential impacts from ongoing disruption to global supply chains and cost inflation upon our business,” the company said.

"The board remains confident in our business model for the future but anticipates returning to a more normalised trading pattern and performance in 2022, which will make the comparators from 2021 challenging.