Marshalls reports bumper sales as homeowners spruce up their outside spaces during lockdown

The order to stay at home inspired many households to improve their outdoor living space at a time when people had nothing else to spend their money on.

The Elland-based firm said that revenue for the year to December 31 was £589m. This is up from £469m in 2020 when Covid restrictions were first introduced and up from £542m in 2019 before the pandemic started.

2021's sales of £589m were 26 per cent ahead of the 2020 figures. This represents an increase of 9 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, being the last comparative period which was unaffected by Covid-19.

Marshalls said that revenue growth in the second half of the year was increasingly strong and was 11 per cent ahead of the comparative figures for 2019.

Sales to the domestic market, which represented 28 per cent of group sales, were £167m. This represents an increase of 30 per cent compared with the prior year and is up 18 per cent compared with the same period in 2019. The survey of domestic installers at the end of October 2021 revealed that order books remained healthy at 16.7 weeks.

Sales to the public sector and commercial market were £389m, representing 66 per cent of group sales. This represents an increase of 26 per cent compared with the prior year and is up 4 per cent compared with the same period in 2019.

Sales in the international business were up 6 per cent compared with the prior period and 23 per cent compared with 2019. International sales represented 6 per cent of group sales.

Marshalls said that this positive trading performance was achieved despite the backdrop of sector-wide raw material and labour shortages. These operational challenges have given rise to significant cost inflation, additional overtime costs to cover Covid-19 related absenteeism and some customer project delays.

However, cost increases were recovered through a mid-year price increase and a further price increase has been implemented successfully this month. The group said it has strong supplier relationships.

It added that underlying market demand is strong and the business has been experiencing trading volumes that are outperforming the Construction Products Association’s growth forecasts.

Supported by strong market demand in the last quarter of the year, the board is revising its trading expectations for 2021 to be slightly ahead of its previous view.

In spite of the ongoing supply chain challenges, Marshalls said that trading remains positive and order intake in recent weeks is 13 per cent higher than the prior year in volume terms, excluding the positive impact of price increases.

It said the outlook for the construction market remains positive.