Winter chill costs SIG £30m in lost sales

ROOFING and insulation firm SIG yesterday estimated it lost about £30 million of sales as cold weather brought construction activity to a standstill across the UK and Europe.

The firm warned that economic conditions and the snow disruption meant that results for the first six months of the year were likely to be well below a year earlier.

However, it may retrieve the lost sales over the coming months and said results were likely to be more weighted towards the second half.

The guidance came as SIG announced a sharp drop in profits for 2009, following a year it described as "exceptionally challenging". Sales in the UK slumped 20.6 per cent to 1.32 billion, offsetting a more resilient performance in mainland Europe, which saw a 2.4 per cent increase to 1.38bn.

The company, which cut 1,774 jobs and closed 72 branches during 2009 to save 65 million, reported underlying profits before tax of 60.6m, a fall of 55.9 per cent. Restructuring charges and other one-off items meant it posted bottom-line losses of 55.3m.

SIG said the actions taken by management had boosted efficiency and meant the company was well positioned to deal with the likelihood that a number of its markets will continue to weaken in the coming months.