Heywood Williams Group, the specialist distributor of branded building products including windows, doors & conservatories, said that it expects 2008 outcome for the full year to be significantly below current market expectations & put the blame on very tough trading conditions caused by the credit crunch. All of the housing markets the group serves have declined sharply during 2008 & the normal seasonal increase in demand has not occurred in any of the markets in which it operates. This is solely due to the unprecedented impact of the credit crunch on the availability & cost of mortgages for consumers in both USA & Europe. In these markets, new build activity is typically down 20-50% & home improvement activity is down 15-25% year-on-year. In the 1H of 2008, sales were down circa 8% compared to 2007. Like-for-like sales in the period, excluding the Avenco acquisition, were down around 11%. Net borrowings at the period end are in line with expectations.
