MANAGEMENT’S REVIEW
CURRENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Volumes and prices
In the second quarter, the trends from the first
quarter were confirmed in Poland and UK where we
are growing. Conversely, Germany shows no signs of
recovery in the short to mid-term.
The overall price development met our expectations.
In Germany, the price increases implemented at the
start of the year held steady through the second
quarter. Prices in the UK have remained stable since
the beginning of the year, while in Poland, we
managed to increase price in the second quarter
over first quarter. However, compared to last year,
our overall prices are lower following a significant
drop in input costs since the beginning of last year.
During this quarter, our sales volumes grew by 8%,
and we achieved -3% organic growth. This was partly
driven by country mix of -5% and negative price
growth of -5%.
Regional market development
UK
In the UK, mortgage approvals have been stable
since the start of the year and building registrations
have been increasing. We remain optimistic on the
overall outlook in the UK following the recent
election with a victory for the Labour Party. Labour’s
flagship policy, "Get Britain Building Again," aims to
construct over 1.5 million homes over 5 years.
Poland
In Poland, building starts and permits continues to
increase. However, the demand for home loans has
slowed following the conclusion of applications
under the "2% Safe Credit" program. Excluding the
impact of the 2% loan program, mortgage issuance
remains stable.
The successor program "Kredyt na Start / Loan for
Start" is set to launch at the beginning of 2025, with
a potential allocation of up to PLN 11 billion over five
years. The program is still under negotiation and will
require approval from ruling coalition partners.
Germany
The outlook in Germany continues to show no signs
of recovery in the short to mid-term. On top of
higher interest rates, high construction costs
resulting from regulation and the absence of
effective government support programs has further
deteriorated the investment climate and building
permits and mortgage loans are on a downward
trend.
OTHER KEY EVENTS
Operations resumed at Borough Green
As stated in company announcement no. 560 on July
5, 2024, production at H+H UK Limited’s Borough
Green facility was temporarily closed and the plant is
now back in operations and consequently, is being
gradually ramped up. Until now and during the
coming ramp-up phase the expected financial loss
(EBIT before special items) of the lost production and
directly related costs are in the region of DKK 10-15
million.
To support the market in the UK and because of the
Borough Green closure, we will reopen the
mothballed Pollington factory to ensure future
supply. The factory is expected to ramp up
operations during Q4 2024.
Further restructuring needed in Germany
In the current environment, we are concentrating on
our business improvement programme, "Project
One," with the strategic objective of integrating CWE
into a single business. This involves presenting one
face to the customer, simplifying and streamlining
our product portfolio, and enhancing plant
utilisation and uptime to achieve higher efficiency.
These efforts will position us well for when the
market recovers.
To support the further restructuring, we expect to
spend up to additional DKK 20 million in special
items. The restructuring primarily relates to sales
and administration.
Sale of land in Warsaw
H+H has agreed to a conditional sale of land and
buildings from its closed factory in Warsaw to Polish
residential developer ROBYG Group for a price of
PLN 110 million net of tax (approximately DKK 190
million). The factory was closed as part of the factory
network restructuring program carried out in 2023.
We remain committed to the Polish market, with the
Warsaw market now being supplied from other
nearby factories. The completion of the transaction
is contingent upon a tax ruling and statutory pre-
emption rights of the City of Warsaw. Completion is
expected to take place no later than November
2024. For more information, please see company
announcement no. 564.