Trade kitchen giant Howdens has reported an increase in revenue and market share for the first half of 2024.
After announcing an increase in revenue for the first four periods (16 weeks) of 2024, the kitchen giant has now reported that its UK revenue in the first half (H1) was 4.3% ahead of the same period of 2023.
With UK revenue steadily rising to £933.7 million, the company says it has “maintained industry leading gross margins of 60.8%.”
Howdens also says its profit before tax of £112.3m is in line with last year, after investing £16m in strategic initiatives in H1. International revenue was also up 2.5% in the period ahead of the prior year.
Commenting on Howdens’ half yearly results, Andrew Livingston chief executive, said: “Howdens performance in the first half was encouraging and we gained market share in a challenging marketplace. We continued to invest in our strategic initiatives which are strengthening our differentiated business model and delivering positive results.
“We are focused on the significant growth opportunities in our core UK kitchen and joinery markets. To access these, we are progressing our new depot and reformat programme and making range and product innovations. We are also manufacturing more of what we sell and, alongside the provision of unequalled stock availability, we are adding further digital capabilities to support our trade customers and depot teams.
“We continue to see opportunities to develop our business model internationally and we’re making good progress in establishing Howdens’ presence, laying the foundations for future success.”
Since the start of the year, Howdens has opened 10 new depots of the 30 that were planned to open in the UK in 2024. It expects to operate with around 1,000 depots in the UK, versus the 840 trading at the end of 2023.
According to the company, this will be supported by a cross docking (XDC) facility which enables depots to “optimise their stock holdings and provide high levels of service across the product range.”