NEWS IN BRIEF: FLOORING
Tuesday 10th February 2009

INTERNATIONAL FLOOR SHOW VISITOR FIGURES

Flooring exhibition Domotex attracted 38,000 visitors to its January show, believed to be a fall against the previous year. 82% of the 1,394 exhibitors and 64% of the visitors to the show came from outside of the host nation Germany.

WOOD FLOOR SALES FALL

Sales of parquet flooring dropped 7% in 2008 according to the European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP). The fall was attributed to a market contraction in key countries for wood floor sales (eg, Germany, Spain and France) and the continued strength of the euro against other currencies.

JAMES HALSTEAD DEFIES DOWNTURN

Lower raw material costs and booming exports are boosting sales and profits at flooring manufacturer James Halstead. In October the firm announced record results for the year to 30th June 2008, and a further update for the second half of the year is expected to show continued rises in turnover and profitability.

The only downside is that the firm’s £31m cash kitty is starting to take a hit from falling interest rates.