Strelrad bosses have told shareholders how they remain confident in the radiator maker’s future, despite continuing uncertainty in the global steel market.
The Newcastle firm – which has its main Ƶ manufacturing plant in Mexborough, South Yorkshire – said that its trading so far in 2025 has been in line with management expectations, despite the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, with its proactive margin management and ongoing cost discipline continuing to underpin profitability.
The group said its full year outlook is unchanged from when it delivered its full year results in March, showing operating profit rose 17.6% to £31.4m in 2024, despite seeing revenues drop 5.7% to £290.6m.
At the time, Stelrad said its management’s “considerable experience” of successfully steering the business through other challenging market cycles will help it to navigate ongoing market challenges to “deliver another year of progress”, saying the drive to decarbonisation continues to underpin its confidence in the future.
Stelrad, which holds its AGM in London today, was founded in 1936 and has grown to become a leading specialist manufacturer and distributor of steel panel and design radiators in the Ƶ, Europe and Turkey, with five main brands sold around the world.
The firm, which has around 1,400 employees, says that although the steel market continues to face uncertainty globally, its supply arrangements remain stable and that the risk of its exposure to any US-related steel tariffs is low, “due to the radiator market’s European orientation and our diverse and longstanding supply relationships, all of which are outside North America.”
It added: “Overall, our progress year to date reinforces our confidence in Stelrad’s outlook for the full year thanks to our flexible, low-cost manufacturing footprint, outstanding customer service and unmatched product availability.
This, alongside a significant installed radiator base and the long-term structural growth drivers of premiumisation and decarbonisation, underpins the Group’s confidence in its future.”
Trevor Harvey, chief executive officer of Stelrad, added: “Stelrad has made a solid start to the year, with trading in line with expectations.
"This performance, achieved against a challenging macroeconomic background, is a testament to the strength and resilience of our operating model and the depth of experience within our leadership team in navigating complex market cycles.
“With our strong market positions and structural tailwinds from decarbonisation, we remain confident in our ability to deliver further progress, drive market share gains, and provide long-term value for all stakeholders.”
The group said it is now market leader in seven countries - the Ƶ, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Greece – with a top three position in a further 11 territories Stelrad will announce its interim results in August.
