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Highlights

  • In H1FY24, JHD’s net margin was 14.7% and current ratio was 3.47x, surpassing industry median of 6% and 1.65x, respectively
  • The company’s pre-tax profit stood at GBP27.40 million, up 18.1% compared to pcp
  • JHD has announced to pay an interim dividend of 2.50 pence per share on 14 June 2024

James Halstead PLC (LSE: JHD) manufactures and supplies flooring products for both commercial as well as domestic purposes. It has a market cap of GBP 768.43 million and is listed on the FTSE AIM UK 50 Index.

In the first half of FY24 (H1FY24), the company reported a net margin of 14.7% and  current ratio of 3.47x, surpassing the industry median of 6% and 1.65x, respectively.

However, the company’s revenue declined by around 8.8% in the first half due to recessionary forces in various major markets coupled with deferments in the rebuilding of its UK-manufactured flooring export markets. The company’s pre-tax profit stood at GBP27.40 million, up 18.1% compared to pcp. The growth in profitability was driven partly by higher interest rates on cash deposits.

JHD has increased its dividend per share by 11.1% YoY in H1FY24. It is slated to pay an interim dividend of 2.50 pence per share on 14 June 2024.  

Recent business update

On 05 March 2024, JHD announced the retirement of its senior independent director Stephen Hall from the board on 01 March 2024.

Company outlook

Driven by highly regarded flooring ranges and timely delivery around the globe, JHD’s export markets have started showing positive growth prospects. Moreover, the company demonstrated improved sales activities for manufactured goods during January and February 2024. Overall, the company remains confident of making further progress.

Top 10 Shareholders

The top 10 shareholders of JHD together account for approximately 42.29% of the total shareholdings in the company. John Halstead Settlement holds the highest number of shares with around 17.01% shareholding. It is followed by Octopus Investments Limited with around 6.59% shareholding, as illustrated in the chart below:

Stock performance

The stock price of JHD has witnessed a downfall of ~5.35% in the last one month and over the last 6 months, it has tumbled by ~10.26%. The stock has a 52-week low and 52-week high of GBX 180.00 & GBX 228.18, respectively. Currently, it is trading below the average of its 52-week high andlow.

Note 1: Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Note 2: The reference data for all price data, currency, technical indicators, support, and resistance levels is 10 June 2024. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from EODHD/Others.