SIG underlying first-half profit up 10.2 pct
Insulation and roofing materials group SIG met forecasts on Thursday with a 10.2 percent rise in underlying first-half profit and said it was confident of further progress but prepared for a slowdown.
First Great Western to invest £29 mln in service improvements"Trading since the end of June has been solid. Nevertheless, the group is mindful of the likelihood that trading in some of its markets may become still more challenging over the coming months," SIG said in a statement.
It said it was taking steps "to realign its cost base in those markets where medium term demand is expected to remain subdued whilst also keeping market developments under close watch ... to promptly implement additional pre-prepared contingency measures should these become appropriate".
The company posted an underlying pretax profit of 68.3 million pounds in the six months to end-June, on sales up 36 percent to 1.49 billion pounds, boosted by acquisitions.
SIG also repeated that "acquisition activity in the second half of the year will be materially lower than the first half, thereby helping to ensure that debt levels remain comfortable".
Net debt at end-June was 640 million pounds, up from 429 million at end-2008.
It raised its interim dividend 3.8 percent to 8.3 pence.
(Reporting by Dan Lalor, editing by Will Waterman)
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