Genuit: Sales fall at sustainable construction firm amid increased competition
Revenue has fallen at Genuit, a manufacturer of sustainable construction products, after bosses said increased competition had pushed prices down.
The firm, which said it had anticipated a drop in sales, revealed a revenue of £183.7m for the four months ending April 30, 2024, down from £201m from the same time last year.
Its water management division took the biggest hit, with revenue falling 12.2 per cent year-on-year, with bosses blaming the wet weather for delaying key projects.
The group’s sustainable building solutions division, which makes up the majority of the company’s income, saw a revenue reduction of 10 per cent, attributed to growing competition in the new builds market.
Chief executive Joe Vorih said: “Genuit continued to make encouraging strategic and operational progress in the first four months of 2024, despite ongoing market softness, and our expectations for the full year are unchanged.
“We are continuing to benefit from our focus on business simplification, continuous operational improvement and product innovation which is driving an improved operating margin.
“Genuit is in a strong position to benefit from the normalisation of volumes as markets recover, and we continue to see growth potential in our markets due to the structural sustainability drivers to which we are exposed.”
Despite revenue slipping, Genuit generated pre-tax profits of £48.4m in the 12 months ending March 2024, up 6.6 per cent on the previous period. Earnings per share also grew 5.4 per cent to 15.5p.
Over the past 12 months the group completed its business simplification programme with the closure of the final two out of six sites, raising £4.8m in cash from freehold sales.
Genuit said it is on track to deliver the previously announced £15m of annualised savings from this programme, and predicted further productivity gains.