LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Howden Joinery plans to open 20 to 25 new depots in the UK this year and refurbish around 60 older locations as it announced that trading in the first four months of the year was in line with expectations.
The building products and kitchens supplier said group underlying revenue was up 3% in the 16 weeks to April 19, with UK revenue 2.6% ahead. On a same-depot basis, sales rose 1.8%.

"We have made a positive start to the year with trading in line with our expectations. Our focus remains on implementing our strategic initiatives to support our trade customers, primarily self-employed builders," said chief executive Andrew Livingston.

"We implemented price increases across all geographies at the start of the year. These are being retained at acceptable levels as we continue to maintain the right balance between margin and volume."

Howden said that customer adoption rates for its click-and-collect service, launched in the second half of last year, were strong as they benefited from real-time stock availability when shopping for everyday products.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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