Polypipe FY revenues slump amid Covid-19

Plastics company Polypipe said on Tuesday that full-year revenues had declined in 2020 on impacts felt from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Polypipe said full-year revenues had fallen 10.9% to £398.6m, while the group's operating profits tumbled 55% to £30.4m due to reduced volumes in the first half and investments made in Covid-19 measures.

Pre-tax profits slumped 60.4% to £23.8m and earnings per share crashed 65.9% to 8.5p.

However, despite the group's weaker performance, Polypipe opted to raise its dividend per share by 20% to 4.8p.

Polypipe stated its markets were continuing to recover, with recent extensions to the stamp duty holiday and the existing Help to Buy scheme, together with the recently announced Government mortgage guarantee scheme, providing further confidence in the new housebuilding sector.

The firm also stated that its medium-term demand drivers were "stronger than ever".

Chief executive Martin Payne said: "We have continued to invest in new products, technologies and businesses to emerge stronger out of the pandemic.

"Trading conditions since the end of the year, together with the structural growth markets we are aligned to, provide confidence in the outlook for the current year and over the medium term."

As of 1030 GMT, Polypipe shares were up 2.86% at 575.0p.