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(Sharecast News) - Eurocell said on Thursday that trading conditions remained subdued in the first four months of 2026, as weak consumer confidence and uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict continued to weigh on the repair, maintenance and improvement market and new build housing.
The UK manufacturer and distributor of window and door products said group sales for the four months to 30 April were up 9% on a trading day-adjusted basis.
Excluding Alunet, which was acquired in March 2025, sales rose 1%, with performance improving to 5% growth in April.
Eurocell said sales in its Profiles division fell 4%, reflecting reduced RMI activity through trade fabricators and persistent wet weather in the first quarter.
New build and social housing fabricators also reported a lack of call-off activity from customers.
Sales in the Branch Network division rose 5%, despite underlying sales to the RMI market falling 3%.
The division benefited from progress in strategic initiatives, with window and door sales up 29%, e-commerce activity up 40%, and garden rooms up 6%.
Nine new branches opened since the end of 2024 delivered 1.1m of incremental sales in the period.
The company said new branches created a short-term drag on profitability but supported longer-term profit improvement.
It added that it had temporarily paused further branch openings until there was better visibility on the economic outlook.
Alunet continued to perform strongly, driven by market share gains. Sales were 18.6m in the four months to 30 April, compared with 8.3m in the two-month post-acquisition period to 30 April 2025.
On a calendar basis, Alunet sales were 19% ahead year-on-year, supported by new business with 14 Eurocell fabricators, the launch of the Aluna+ aluminium window system, continued installer growth at Comp Door, and cross-selling through the branch network.
Eurocell said it expected to make earnout payments of around 4m shortly in respect of Alunet's 2025 performance, reflecting its strong EBITDA delivery.
The company said it was continuing to invest in strategic initiatives, operational improvements and cost control, while seeking to offset higher input costs through surcharges and sales strategies.
It said the near-term impact of weak confidence and the new build slowdown remained difficult to assess, reflected in company-compiled analyst forecasts for adjusted profit before tax of 21m to 23m for the year.
Eurocell said further investments over the next 12 months would include modernising its IT infrastructure, with transition expected at the end of 2026.
It reiterated that its intention remained to continue share buybacks in due course, assuming no prolonged impact from the Middle East situation and subject to maintaining a strong financial position.
The group said its balance sheet remained strong, with good headroom on its debt facility, which was renewed in March.
At 1014 BST, shares in Eurocell were up 2.91% at 106.51p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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