Flooring group James Halstead PLC expects half year pre-tax profits to decline due to challenges with energy and raw material costs.

According to its latest trading update ahead of its interim results for the half-year to 31 December 2022, the company said that revenues for the period are expected to be around 8-9% ahead of the comparative period in the prior year.

“Over the six months, trading of UK manufactured goods has been adversely affected by the lack of availability of international shipping to several overseas territories most notably Australia, North and South America,” James Halstead said.

“However, in December the Company saw signs of reduced international freight costs and raw material costs. Energy costs remain at historically high levels but have not escalated, nor have our key European raw material suppliers faced production interruption as a result of the energy shortage. The Company has also been able to significantly reduce stock levels since the end of the last financial year. This has had a positive effect on our balance sheet strength which continues to underpin our business.

“As a consequence of the challenges highlighted above, profit before tax for the half year will be short of the comparative period but not significantly so. However, the Board’s expectations for the full year remain positive and unchanged.”