Howden Joinery Group Plc (‘Howdens’) today publishes a trading update for 12 June 2017 to 28 October 2017 (Period 7 to Period 11).

Howdens has seen a good trading performance, including during the important October trading period (Period 11). The company remains on track to meet the Board's expectations for the full year, while noting that the two remaining trading periods together typically account for more than 10 per cent of annual revenue.

Trading
Howdens UK depots’ total revenue for Periods 7 to 11 increased by 8.2% on the comparable periods in 2016. The increase in revenue was driven mainly by volume growth and also reflected the slowdown in revenue growth reported during the second half of 2016.

In the first 11 periods (44 weeks) of 2017, total revenue in the UK increased by 6.3% and by 4.4% on a same depot basis, while gross margin performance has been in line with management expectations.

Other developments
Howdens UK has opened five new depots since the July 2017 half year report, resulting in 16 new depots added so far this year, taking the total depots in the UK to 658. Howdens expects to add around 20 new depots in the UK in 2017.

Howdens has acquired 8.6m shares since July 2017 as part of the £80m share buyback programme announced on 23 February 2017. In total, 11.2m shares have been acquired in 2017, for a consideration of £47.9m.

Next scheduled announcement
The Group will release its 2017 Preliminary Results on 1 March 2018.

Enquiries

Investors/analysts:
Paul Sharma
Head of Investor Relations
+ 44 (0) 20 7535 1164/+44 (0) 7585 992943

Media
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Simon Rigby + 44 (0) 20 7282 2847/Kevin Smith +44 (0) 20 7282 1054

Note to editors:
Howden Joinery Group Plc is the parent company of Howden Joinery (Howdens). In the UK, Howdens is engaged in the sale of kitchens and joinery products to trade customers, primarily small local builders, through approximately 650 depots. Around one-third of the products it sells are manufactured in the company’s own factories in Runcorn, Cheshire and Howden, East Yorkshire. The business also has nascent operations in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Impact of 53rd week
Howdens reports results based on a weekly cycle, rather than on a monthly basis. This means that for most years the company reports 52 weeks of trading, but in 2017 it will report 53 weeks of trading, including the week between Christmas and New Year, when depots are closed while incurring ongoing costs.

The inclusion of a 53rd week in 2017 will increase operating costs by approximately £10m, but will not contribute to revenue.

The range of analyst expectations of operating profit for 2017 is believed to be £215m to £234m, with a mean of £228m (excluding 53rd week costs) and £205m to £224m, with a mean of £218m (including 53rd week costs).

Please see for more information: www.howdenjoinerygroupplc.com