Tomkins: 'some global markets have stabilised'

Tomkins, the global engineering and manufacturing group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, said some markets had “stabilised” across the world, in an interim management statement covering the period from 5 July to 4 November 2009.

However, revenues within the firm’s building products division, including its air distribution group, continued to decline throughout the quarter, due mostly to declining sales within the North American commercial market, where orders and backlogs continued to soften. A focus on green products helped the unit outperform the market, the firm said.

Its Bathware arm, serving the North American residential construction market, benefited from a stabilisation in end market volumes and increased benefits from the firm’s restructuring initiatives.

There was no material change in the financial position of the group during the period, the firm said. As at 3 October 2009, net assets were $1.7bn (£1bn). Net debt was $394.2m, down from $476.4m in January.