(Reuters) -British building and roofing products supplier Marshalls on Monday said it plans to cut 250 jobs and lowered its annual forecast citing persistent weakness in the housing market, sending shares down 11%.
The stock was the top percentage loser on the FTSE midcap index, hitting a near three-week low of 248 pence in early trading.
The update comes in the face of a slowdown in the UK housing market as high mortgage rates and widespread economic woes drive homebuyers away.
The Elland, UK-based Marshalls said it would cut production volumes to manage working capital and forecast full-year earnings below previous expectations after posting a 13% decline in like-for-like group revenue for the six months to June 30.
The cost cuts could lead to annual savings of about 9 million pounds ($11.6 million), the company said.
“The group’s actions will conserve cash but also limit the level of sales margins that can be achieved for the rest of the year,” Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown, wrote in a note.
Shares were trading 8.4% lower at 253 pence as of 0811 GMT.
($1 = 0.7774 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
