Galiform says can make profit hopes despite sales fall

LONDON (Reuters) - Galiform (GFRM.L), owner of Howden Joinery, the supplier of kitchen units to small builders, said it can meet market hopes for full-year profit so long as trading conditions do not worsen.

"If market conditions for the remainder of the financial year remain consistent with those seen in recent weeks, the board currently expects that the profit outcome for the year would be within the current range of market expectations," it said.

Before Thursday's trading update this range stood at 65 million pounds to 75 million, down from 79.8 million pounds last time.

The update revealed a sharp fall in second-half underlying sales.

Galiform said it was not expecting the UK's economic environment to improve in the short term and was continuing to manage the business on that basis.

"The key risk to future trading performance remains the economic uncertainty," it said.

Over the past year, shares in Galiform have lost 81 percent of their value.

At 10:09 a.m., the stock was down 1 pence, or 5 percent, to 19 pence as investors fretted about the longer term outlook.

"Galiform has navigated a difficult trading period relatively well, but there has been a slowdown and there are few reasons to believe this will not continue into next year," said Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Sanjay Vidyarthi in a note to clients.