First-half results from Howden Joinery (HWDN) on 20 July will reveal the impact a slowdown in the housing market is having on its trading.

The trade kitchen supplier last updated in the spring, with a trading statement covering the 16-week period to 15 April. Like-for-like revenue was flat on the same period a year earlier in the UK business once you accounted for the impact of an additional sales day in 2022.

However, since then there has been a big increase in gilt yields and the first evidence that a resulting rise in mortgage rates is having a tangible impact on house prices. Halifax reporting house prices fell at the fastest rate since 2011 in June – down 2.6%.

A slowdown in the market will probably be bad news for Howden as less people will be on the move and looking to revamp the kitchen in
their new homes. Pressures on household budgets as mortgage costs go up may also hit appetite for renovation projects and if housebuilders dial back on developments Howdens will lose out in its Contracts division, which serves this segment of the market.

Investment bank Berenberg says: ‘While we are cautious on discretionary RMI (repair, maintenance and improvement) activity given tough Covid-19 comparatives and increasing pressure on the consumer, we think Howden will outperform its end markets.’

UK UPDATES OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS

FULL-YEAR RESULTS

July 17: Northern Bear, Gore Street Energy Storage Fund

July 19: Redcentric

HALF-YEAR RESULTS

July 20: PensionBee Group, Howden Joinery

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

July 14: Burberry, Mcbride, Ashmore, Liontrust Asset Management

July 18: IntegraFin, Rio Tinto

July 20: PensionBee, SSE, Dunelm, Diploma, QinetiQ

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