Marshalls' Edenhall acquisition hauls revenues higher

Marshalls on Wednesday expressed confidence in its full-year performance as it reported a leap in revenue since the beginning of January, with the December acquisition of Edenhall helping to drive growth.

The FTSE 250-traded stone and concrete landscaping product manufacturer and distributor said group revenue for the four months ended 30 April was up 21% at £180m, or 13% when excluding the impact of brick manufacturer Edenhall, which is integrating well into the company.

Marshalls acquired Edenhall for an initial cash consideration of £11.8m and deferred consideration of up to £5.4m in the hope of spurring further growth in the new build housing market.

Sales in the public sector and commercial end market, which represented approximately 69% of group sales, were up 26% compared with the prior year period, while sales in the domestic end market, which represented approximately 26% of group sales, were up 9% compared with the prior year period.

A survey of domestic installers at the end of April revealed order books of 10.8 weeks compared with 10.0 weeks at the end of February and 10.9 weeks at the end of April 2018.

"Recent trading has been strong and underlying indicators in the new build housing, road, rail and water management markets remain supportive to our growth strategy and plans. The group continues to outperform the Construction Products Association's growth figures and the board is increasingly encouraged regarding the group's performance for this financial year," said a statement from Marshalls.

Marshalls' shares were up 2.69% at 667.46p at 0802 BST.