I don't know about you but I'm getting a feeling that things are starting to improve a bit?
Without getting too carried away - remember, the world has taken on a lot of debt baling out the banks - we can now begin to look forward to a little stability and less uncertainty.
Factory order books and output are growing at their fastest pace in almost two decades as British manufacturing emerges from the recession.
The purchasing managers index (PMI) showed a rise from 54.8 in July to 57.2 last month – taking it to highs it hasn't seen in two and a half years.
Industry-wide, I do feel the landscape and horticulture sector will have to be a bit more patient as it's nearly always last to see an spare money filter down; especially on the domestic side.
But the signs are encouraging. Only last week, Marshalls released a better set of results which showed they are preparing for growth as order books pick up.
Although Marshalls group turnover was down 4% overall, profit before tax rose by 15% to £8.0 million with net debt reduced by 37% to £53.0 million (2012: £83.8 million).
In their forward looking statement, Marshalls said they would 'increase output to meet growing demand'.
From a domestic landscaping viewpoint, Marshalls all important installer order book stands at 10.2 weeks (2012: 9.0 weeks). Whilst I wouldn't want to see these figures over egged, as one would expect nothing else after what has been a very stable year in terms of weather compared to last year's washout, there's certainly room for optimism.
Sales to the domestic market, which represent approximately 32 per cent of Marshalls' total group sales, were down 3 per cent compared with the prior year period.
In the domestic market Marshalls said its strategy continues to be to drive more sales through its network of registered installers. The Marshalls Register of approved domestic installers stands at over 1,800 teams.
Marshalls said: "The focus is to ensure a consistently high quality standard and good geographical coverage and the group remains committed to increasing the marketing support of the installer base through increased training, marketing materials and sales support."
Sales of Cobbletech, a patented driveway system Marshalls acquired when it bought a Belgian paving manufacturer back in 2011, shows potential with sales rising in the first half of 2013 at £800,000 compared to £200,000 over the whole of 2012.
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