Epwin Group PLC, a leading manufacturer of energy efficient and low maintenance building products, has announced its year-end trading update for the year ending December 31, 2023. The company expects its FY 2023 underlying operating profit to be towards the upper end of market expectations, reflecting a significant increase over FY 2022. Despite well-publicized issues of labor, energy, and inflationary cost pressures, the Group has managed to maintain strong trading performance, with revenues in line with market expectations.

The company has effectively managed raw material cost inflation and expects to report underlying operating profit for FY 2023 towards the upper end of the range of current market expectations. Epwin has also made good progress with its strategy, including operational improvement, new product development, integrating recent acquisitions, and sustainability initiatives.

Furthermore, strong cash generation has resulted in better than expected year-end net debt, with the Group expecting to report covenant net debt better than current market expectations at 31 December 2023. This represents a year-end leverage of less than 0.5x adjusted EBITDA.

The company remains confident in its outlook for FY 2024, with the Board indicating that the current drivers for its range of building products are resilient. The Group will announce its full year results for the year to 31 December 2023 on Wednesday 10 April 2024.

Jon Bednall, Chief Executive Officer, expressed confidence in the Group's future prospects, despite short-term macroeconomic headwinds, and expects to make further progress in the coming year. Epwin Group PLC's strong financial performance and confident outlook reflect the company's resilience and strategic progress in the face of market challenges.