UK: Superglass Holdings PLC (SPGH.LN), an independent UK manufacturer of glass wool and mineral fibre insulation solutions, has said that current trading conditions continue to be extremely challenging and it plans to explore options to strengthen the company's balance sheet, including a further equity issue.
Superglass said that the company continues to operate within the terms of its bank facilities and its bankers continue to be supportive. However, debt amortisation payments are due to resume in November 2013 and Superglass is scheduled to repay Euro9.5m of debt over the three years to November 2016. It warned that, as long as market conditions remain as they are now, these debt service obligations will become unsustainable.
Superglass said that the delays in the recent transition from CERT standards to the new Green Deal framework had caused a major gap in activity within the retrofit market for both loft and cavity insulation. This, combined with abnormally low levels of housebuilding activity in the UK by historical standards, has caused a surplus of UK insulation capacity and highly competitive market conditions. This, Superglass said that this was detrimentally impacting the company's operating profit and cashflow.
