Resilient Marshalls starts to reap the rewards

Chris Millington, at Numis Securities, said: “Strong interims, even with the bad weather at the start of the year, are testament to group actions to date in terms of cost containment.

“However, as lead indicators and activity levels turn positive the operational gearing potential of Marshalls will come to the fore, and indications of increased output signal this is already starting to emerge.”

This means that a rise in revenue could translate into significant growth in profits. Numis retained its ‘add’ recommendation.

Mark Hughes, at Panmure Gordon, said the first-half results demonstrated positive momentum on a number of fronts and expects upgrades in forecasts for 2014 and 2015.

He maintained his ‘hold’ position.