Fragile existence | On the up | On a roll
News covered here includes our assessment of yet another profit warning from a distributor of building materials. While the market has clearly been tough, much of this Group’s problems seem to be of its own making. Elsewhere, a flooring distributor continues to benefit from the failure of its larger rival, while a music and audio products company also encouraged with its results. Read on here for our usual forthright views
Lords Group: fragile existence Shares in Lords Group Trading (AIM: LORD), the distributor of building materials, plumbing, heating and DIY products, plunged to new lows on a disappointing, if not entirely unexpected, trading update. While its Digital and Merchanting divisions appear to be holding up, market conditions in the Plumbing & Heating division have remained more challenging than previously anticipated. As a result, fairy tale adjusted EBITDA (for what it’s worth!) for the year to December 2026 will be approximately £16m. Unfortunately, this fairy tale number has been a meaningless measure of profitability for this business, relative to its real…