Group revenue was down 4% to £2.61bn for the year to 31 December 2012 (2011: £2.71bn). Underlying pre-tax profit was down 1.9% to £96.5m (2011: £98.4m). Reported pre-tax profit was up several fold to £43.7m (2011: £7.5m).
In the UK and Ireland, which accounts for 45% of the business, sales from continuing operations were down 2.4% to £1.17bn (2011: £1.20bn). Underlying operating profit reduced by 2.4% to £48.4m (2011: £49.6m) while total operating profit was £32.6m (2011: £1.1m).
The company said that performance was impaired by weak construction markets and the second wettest year on record in the UK.
During 2012 SIG opened five new trading sites in the UK, acquired one new site and closed or merged 18 branches. The total number of trading sites in the UK & Ireland fell from 330 to 320 during the year.
The SIG board expects reduced UK volumes in 2013 due to the end of CERT and likely slow start-up of the successor Green Deal scheme, but longer term benefits are seen as Green Deal makes headway.
Chief executive Stuart Mitchell said: "My initial impressions of the business are very positive – SIG has a strong management team, leading positions in its markets and a clear strategy to take the business forward. While this provides a firm foundation on which to build, I believe there is further potential in the group, with opportunities to improve performance in areas such as procurement, ecommerce, supply chain logistics and rebranding. I am confident that we can drive significant improvements in ROCE [return on capital employed], even in flat markets, with additional upside to come from eventual market recovery.
"Although sales per day in constant currency for the first two months were slightly down compared to prior year, poor weather and a strong January comparator make it difficult to discern underlying trading patterns.
"Our outlook for 2013 remains unchanged from our trading statement in January. We expect construction markets to remain challenging and likely to decline at a similar rate to 2012. Against this background, and building on recent performance, SIG expects to make further progress by continuing to focus on sales outperformance, gross margin enhancement and improved operational efficiency."
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