Howden Joinery Group PLC on Thursday said expects full-year profit to be at the lower end of market expectations, in the face of continuing macro-economic headwinds.

Shares in the London-based kitchen and joinery supplier were down 2.0% to 630.80 pence each in London on Thursday morning. Over the past 12 months, the stock is up 22%.

Howden Joinery entered the FTSE 100 index in September, after being promoted from the FTSE 250.

In a trading update, Hoden said there was a 2.0% annual decline in reported sales for the period ended October 28, with like-for-like sales down 3.3%.

It said that this was a ‘robust performance ... in the face of continuing macro-economic headwinds.’

Meanwhile, sales in the international depots during the period were 5.7% ahead of the prior year despite challenging market conditions. These sales make up about 3% of group revenue.

Looking ahead, Howden maintained its full year expectations for 2023, but said it expects it to be towards the lower end of analysts’ consensus forecastes. It said this was because of an ‘uncertain’ macro-economic outlook.

2023 full-year pretax profit consensus published on the company’s website is a range of £330 million to £365 million. In 2022, Howden reported pretax profit of £405.8 million.

Chief Executive Andrew Livingston said: ‘Howdens has continued to trade well since the half year and has gained market share. UK depot sales during our peak trading period remained consistent with last year’s record performance. This was a significant achievement by our teams given the macro-economic headwinds and demonstrates the value of our culture and a differentiated business model.’

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