Marks Electrical Group PLC on Thursday said its first-half revenue climbed, though its margins took a hit from the launch of an installation service for its products.

Shares in the firm were 5.7% lower at 102.80 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

Revenue in the half-year ended September 30 jumped 25% on-year to £53.9 million from £43.1 million, the Leicester-based electrical products retailer said. Back in August, the firm said revenue in the four months to July 31 was 31% higher on-year, so growth eased slightly towards the end of the half-year.

Nonetheless, Marks Electrical outperformed a ‘broadly flat’ major domestic appliances and consumer electronics market.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Smithson said: ‘Our strategic decision to add in-house installation services to our offering has strengthened the group’s premium service proposition, enabling us to develop a market leading installation offering, growing market share and driving revenue growth.’

The launch of installation services, during a time of robust cost inflation, put some pressure on the firm’s margins, however. Smithson said that margin hurt to ease in the second half.

‘We’ve exited September with order growth of over 20%, made a strong start to October, and are laser-focused on maintaining our performance management discipline on revenue, profit and cash in order to grow sustainably and achieve our full year targets,’ the CEO added.

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