SIG shares sink on sluggish activity

The price of shares in FTSE 250 building materials specialist SIG (LON:SHI) has dropped by 16.53% to 99.75p (as of 14:30 BST) after it warned that underlying profitability for the year would be substantially below expectations. Management said that construction activity in key markets had been declining through the year, particularly in the UK and Germany.

The company is taking steps to address the weakness through strategic shifts and has entered agreements to sell the Air Handling and Building Solutions divisions, the actions of which will strengthen the business’ balance sheet.