Up 9 per cent since the new year, BSS is one of the best performers in The Independent's portfolio of tips for 2005. The plumbing and heating supplies group, with 270 branches, is enjoying a virtuous spiral of market- share gains and better bargaining power with its suppliers.
The domestic market for home improvement has remained strong, and BSS's domestic division, selling bathroom suites and boilers, was the highlight of yesterday's interim figures, posting a 16 per cent rise in sales and a 32 per cent increase in operating profit.
The obvious question to ask is, what happens as consumers draw in their horns and start to repay the debts they have racked up over the past decade? Certainly less home improvement. However, BSS is focusing its energies on supplying the Government's growing social- housing refurbishment programme. And the number of homes being built looks set to rise for the foreseeable future.
The industrial division, which supplies non-residential builders, is finding sales growth a little harder to come by, but again the margins have been pushed higher by BSS's credible management.
At 1,043p, the shares trade below the average for the sector and remain undervalued still.
Copyright 2005 Independent Newspapers UK Limited
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