US Edition 
Questor share tip: Home improvement lifts Howden and Marshalls
The UK housing market may be cooling but the UK still likes a new kitchen and fancy patio, says Questor
Howden Joinery
371p+28.1p
Questor says HOLD
THE UK housing market may be cooling but the home renovation sector which typically lags house transactions by a few months is still booming.
Howden Joinery [LON:HWDN] (click on highlighted text for company analysis), the kitchen specialist, and Marshalls [LON:MSLH], the paving group, both said yesterday they now expect to beat profit forecasts for the full year after strong half sales.
The announcement from the FTSE 250-listed kitchen and joinery group sent the shares 8pc higher yesterday. The confident update from Howden led broker JP Morgan Cazenove to upgrade pre-tax profit forecasts for the full year by 9pc to £176.9m, giving adjusted earnings per share of 20.8p.
Howden Joinery said that its kitchen and joinery depots increased revenue by 16.2pc in the second half of the year to November 1. The group said it had opened four new depots, resulting in 21 new depots in the UK so far this year and bringing the total to 580. Howden is targeting 30 new depots for the full year.
Marshalls, a company that specialises in paving for homes and public sector works, said that if current trading continues it will also beat market expectations.
The company said revenue for the 10 months to October 31 was up 18pc at £312m on the same period last year. The group said new orders were coming in strongly and sales were increasing in all its end markets.
The paving company generates about two thirds of its sales from the public sector and a third from home refurbishment. Public sector orders jumped 21pc during the first 10 months on the back of strong orders from rail projects and homebuilding.
The strong trading led broker Panmure Gordon to upgrade full-year pre-tax profits forecasts by 6pc to £22.3m, giving 9.3p in earnings per share.
Howden is trading well but the shares, on 17.5 times forecast earnings, look to have much of the growth in the price for now.
Likewise, Marshalls shares, on 22 times forecast earnings, are also pricing in an optimistic view of future sales. As such, both shares remain a hold for now.