Good morning, welcome to this presentation by Stelrad Group plc. Today, we will be covering the interim results for the period to the 13th of June, 2023. My name is Trevor Harvey. I'm the Group CEO, and I'm joined today by George Letham, our Group CFO. Our agenda is shown there on the left of the slide. We will commence with a quick overview, moving into a more detailed financial review, a business review, ending with a summary and outlook and an opportunity for Q&A. In the face of challenging market conditions, Stelrad Group performed strongly in the first half of 2023. Stelrad delivered record first half revenue this year, benefiting from additional sales from the DL Radiators business acquisition in July last year. On a like-for-like basis, revenue decreased relative to a strong comparative period in 2022.
Encouragingly, the group delivered increased contribution per radiator in the first six months of the year, driven by a combination of prudent cost management, coupled with further optimization of our operational facilities. As a result of our first half performance, we're confident that we will achieve full year consensus expectations, and we're recommending an interim dividend of 2.92 GBP per share. Despite the short-term macroeconomic challenges, Stelrad remains well positioned. The group has market leadership in European steel panel radiators, and operates from a position of scale and geographical diversity in the wider heat emitter market. In addition, decarbonization trends and continuing concerns around energy security will drive increased market demand for more energy efficient heating solutions to the benefit of Stelrad Group over the longer term.
Good morning, I'm George Letham, the CFO of Stelrad. I'm today pleased to be presenting results for the group in line with consensus expectations, despite challenging market conditions in many of our markets. Revenue was 6.2% higher than in the same period in 2022, but declined by 12.7% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of the acquisition of DL Radiators. Sales volumes in the first half of 2023 decreased by 3.2% compared to prior year, but like-for-like were 15.7% lower against a very strong first half comparative in 2022. A 10% improvement in contribution per radiator was generated by proactive margin management and operational improvements. Adjusted operating profit of GBP 14 million was GBP 5 million lower than prior year, with lower sales volumes and significantly increased depreciation charges.
These impacts were only partially mitigated by price and cost benefits. Leverage at June 2023 was 1.76 x EBITDA, with working capital at a seasonal high point during the summer months prior to the heating season in the autumn. The board is recommending holding the interim dividend at the same level as last year of 2.92 pence per share. If we now look at the more detail at sales volumes and contribution per radiator, see total radiator volumes reduced 3.2% to 2.622 million radiators, against a very strong comparative in 2022, with like-for-like sales volumes 15.7% lower. Premium panel sales volumes, 154,000 units, mirrored overall market trends, with penetration levels of Premium panel slightly up on prior year.
This was achieved despite several European countries, with the highest premium panel penetration levels recording the most significant market volume declines. Contribution per radiator continued to increase and showed the full year benefit of selling price increases applied in 2022 to recover increasing steel and energy costs and ongoing operational improvements. The group continues to benefit from operational efficiencies derived from our standardized design, low cost and flexible manufacturing platform, and best-in-class product availability and customer service. This slide analyzes our revenue figures, group sales total, GBP 157 million in the first half of 2023, with a diverse geographic spread. The split is 49% Europe, 45% U.K. and Ireland, and 6% Turkey and other.
The 6.2% revenue growth in the first half of 2023 includes sales from our Italian subsidiary, DL Radiators, acquired in July 2022. The 6.2% growth in the first half of 2023 revenue is analyzed by territory on this slide. Europe was up 20.3%, U.K. and Ireland down 0.7%, and Turkey and International down 23.5%. Like-for-like revenue in Europe declined by 22.1%, excluding the impact of DL Radiators. Sales volumes in most Western and European countries were more severely impacted by the challenging market conditions than U.K. sales volumes. The market share data for 2023 is not yet available, but based on our own reliable internal information, we're confident that we'll have gained further share in the U.K., France, Germany, and Italy.
This slide analyzes adjusted operating profit, which was delivered in line with expectations. Group adjusted operating profit of GBP 14 million was GBP 5 million lower than prior year, with a 15.7% decrease in like-for-like sales volumes due to weaker market conditions, but a significant GBP 2.2 million increase in depreciation charges. Contribution per radiator improved across all territories due to selling price increases and operational improvements. Lower sales volumes adversely affected the fixed cost and depreciation cost absorption, resulting in margin decreasing from 12.9% to 8.9%. Looking at adjusted operating profit by geography, it shows the U.K. and Ireland operating profit decreased by 7% to GBP 11.5 million.
Europe operating profit decreased by 35% to GBP 4.9 million, Turkey and international operating profit decreased by about 65% to GBP 0.7 million, with further significant reductions in sales volumes to China. Central costs increased by GBP 0.3 million as a result of inflation. Turning to look at the group's strong cash generation. Adjusted free cash flow for the period was GBP 3.4 million, compared to an outflow of GBP 3.6 million in the first half of 2022. The GBP 7 million improvement in free cash flow was largely due to management actions on working capital to mitigate the seasonal high point. Our capacity reconfiguration has facilitated more stable inventory management prior to the commencement of the traditional heating season in the autumn.
Higher interest in tax payments have partially offset the working capital improvement, with increased interest rates and withholding tax on dividends remitted from Turkey. This slide looks at the group's stable net debt position, despite the seasonal working capital demands. Net debt, excluding finance leases, was GBP 70.4 million at June 2023, compared to GBP 68.4 million at December 2022. At half year, the group had cash of GBP 20.6 million, and undrawn available facilities of GBP 9.3 million. The group's net leverage increased to 1.76x EBITDA at June 2023, compared to 1.62x EBITDA at December 2022. Turning to the financial outlook, I'll give the following technical guidance. Sales volumes are anticipated to remain subdued in the remainder of 2023 in both the new build and renovation sectors.
We anticipate a further improvement in contribution per radiator, benefiting from lower steel and energy costs, and leverage is expected to reduce below 1.5x EBITDA by the end of 2023, after the seasonal increase in H1 2023. The group effective tax rate is forecast at around 23% for 2023, but will rise to 25% from 2024 onwards, due to withholding tax and dividends from our Turkey subsidiary. The group intends to maintain the 2023 dividend at 2022 levels, reflecting the board's confidence in its long-term strategy and financial position.
Thanks very much, George. Can we now move on to a business review? Underpinning the group's progress to date are the four key objectives, providing our strategic direction: growing market share, improving product mix, optimizing routes to market, and positioning effectively for decarbonization. I've shared this strategic approach with you previously. I wanted to update you on the progress that we are making. In terms of growing market share, I'm proud to say that the 2022 data, recently published by BRG Building Solutions, shows that Stelrad gained European market leadership in steel panel radiators for the first time in our history. Over the last 3 years, our share has risen from 16.3% to 18.5%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points, growth unmatched by any of the other top five players.
Although we would have been number one in 2022, even without the additional volume gained through DL Radiators, the acquisition has placed us in a, into a clear leadership position with a stronger, more diverse footprint in terms of geography and routes to market. Only one other player demonstrated share growth over the same period, with our traditional Western European competitors experiencing year-on-year share decline. We continue to leverage our strong brands, long-established customer relations, relationships, and low-cost operations to build on this position into 2023 and beyond. Beyond our traditional core markets, such as the U.K., the Netherlands, Belgium, and Ireland, the group continues to gain traction and increase penetration of a broader geographic base. In BRG's recently published data for 2022, Stelrad moved from number five to number three position in Germany, Europe's 4th largest steel panel radiator market.
Growth of 4.1 percentage points took our overall market share above 10%, and we anticipate further gains in 2023 as the group realizes the full year benefit of the DL Radiators acquisition. In addition to share growth, we also gained access to Bosch's Buderus-branded direct-to-installer model, fully in line with our objective of optimizing routes to market. Following strong share gains in 2021, driven by our developing business with leading European distributor, Saint-Gobain, Stelrad further consolidated its Swedish number two position in 2022, with an additional 2.7 percentage points organic growth, delivering 22.5% market share overall. In France, we gained market leadership, overtaking two long-established Western European competitors. Growth of 4.2 percentage points from 2021 took Stelrad's 2022 share to 30.6%.
This came from a combination of organic growth and post-acquisition DL Radiators volume. As in Germany, access to the French market benefited from the integration of DL Radiators routes to market, in this case, a more retail-oriented customer base. Another key strategic objective for the group is to increase the proportion of higher added value products sold. I'm pleased to report that despite the challenging economic climate, Stelrad successfully improved product mix in the first half of 2023, with all indicators showing positive year-on-year progress since 2021. Looking firstly at premium steel panel radiator mix as a percentage of Stelrad's total volume, this reached 5.9% in the first half of 2023, a 0.4 percentage point increase since 2021, and an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
When considered as a percentage of all steel panel radiators volume, premium steel panel radiators mix rose to 6.4% in 2023, a 0.7 percentage points improvement since 2021, and representing growth of 0.5 percentage points compared to 2022. Combining premium steel panel radiators and all other higher added value design radiators, the 2023 mix of total volume was 14.3%. This represents an increase of 5.8 percentage points over the last two years, and an increase of 5.6% versus 2022. These gains were driven primarily by the strategic acquisition of DL Radiators, which, as expected, has provided the group with a more design-orientated product portfolio and access to a wider range of distribution channels.
Stelrad's market-leading levels of product availability and customer service continue to drive our competitive advantage, particularly in the current economic climate, as distributors review and adapt their inventory management policies. Our customers benefit from having access to the largest distribution centers in both the U.K. and mainland Europe, supported by regional distribution hubs in Poland and Denmark, and by the group's recent investment in additional warehousing capability at our low-cost Turkish facility. This also enables us to further optimize our operational efficiency. When we last spoke 6 months ago, our on-time and full delivery in the U.K. was 95%. Since then, it has risen to an even more impressive 98%. Stelrad has now also introduced a 48-hour delivery option at an additional cost for premium steel panel and other design radiators.
This gives both distributors and consumers improved access to Stelrad's significant stocks of these higher added value products. To ensure the group is positioned effectively for decarbonization, Stelrad is innovating to meet the growing demand for products compatible with low and zero heating systems, zero-carbon heating systems. We are continuing to develop and expand our portfolio of higher heat output products, and are leveraging our long-standing position of credibility and influence with spec buyers to deliver mutually benefits beneficial solutions for the low and zero carbon heating systems of the future. We have extended our range of K3 triple panel, triple convector radiators, and have added further 900 millimeter high steel panel radiator variants. In support of increasing demand, we are now producing higher heat output vertical radiators at our low-cost Turkish facility.
We have also introduced the VENTO range of standard and premium steel panel radiators, featuring additional electrical convection to deliver higher output from lower temperature systems. In the second half of 2023, Stelrad will launch its first range of electrical radiators. This will be an innovative range of 64 heat emitters, including towel warmers, aluminum, and other design radiators, targeting a market segment with clear opportunities for future growth. Stelrad's pre-launch activity in the second quarter of this year was well received by specifiers and distributors in both new build and replacement market segments. As a result, we have been able to secure initial specifications by a leading house builder and have received stocking commitments from leading electrical distributors.
Extending the Stelrad brand into new channels was possible due to our ability to leverage Stelrad's strong brand and long-established customer relationships, in combination with DL Radiators' know-how in electrical radiators. As a result, the group is positioned effectively for growth in a segment with significant long-term potential, driven by decarbonization trends. As I outlined earlier, Stelrad's strategy is unchanged, and our four key strategic objectives of growing market share, improving product mix, optimizing routes to market, and positioning effectively for decarbonization, continue to provide the business with clear direction. Stelrad's full year outlook remains unchanged, and we are confident in our growth plans for the long term. In the first half of 2023, we delivered a robust performance despite the challenging macroeconomic conditions, benefiting from our resilient business model, management experience in navigating previous market downturns, and a favorable geographic business mix.
Stelrad adapted quickly and effectively to these challenges, taking proactive steps to manage margin, engaging on a cost reduction program, and continuing to optimize the benefits of our flexible and low-cost operations. Looking beyond the current climate, the group remains well positioned for growth once market conditions improve, with the integration of DL Radiators providing clear market share and revenue growth, and with supportive legislation driving a long-term trend for decarbonized heating systems. In summary, regardless of the near-term headwinds faced in the wider sector, the continued resilience of our business model, coupled with an increasing need for energy-efficient heating, underpins our confidence in our ability to drive shareholder value over the longer term. Thanks, everyone. There's now an opportunity, I think, for questions.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question at this time, please signal by pressing star one on your telephone keypad. Please make sure the mute function on your phone is switched off to allow your signal to reach our equipment. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. You may also submit your question via the webcast. We will now take our first question from Scott Cahan from Investec. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Great H1 mode on given the backdrop and circumstances. Just have a few questions, please. Interested to hear a little bit more about the electrical radiators, where you see that going over the next few years. I know no one has a crystal ball, but just how you're thinking about that internally and what customers have said already. Second question is a little bit more sort of detail on the market outperformance and market share gains. If you can just give us a few more anecdotes there, that would be fantastic. One for George, just what you're doing in particular for that impressive working capital management, and how you see that playing out through the second half and into next year. Thank you.
Shall I answer the first question, George?
Yep, sure.
I think in terms of the electric range, this clearly is an addition to our traditional portfolio, and was possible by the DL Radiators acquisition in July last year. We have clearly analyzed the market opportunities that exist within our existing businesses, and the U.K. offers us the most significant opportunity in the short term. We have selected a range of 64 products from the existing De'Longhi range, which we have pre-launched in the U.K. in quarter two. These have been extremely well received.
We have already secured a specification, one, with one of the top four national house builders in the U.K. for these products, and we will see initial sales of these products into the new build sector in the second half of this year, notwithstanding the fact that the new build sector has its own challenges in the short and medium term. In addition to that, we have been in discussions with, you know, the leading electrical distributors in the U.K. We have secured a stock commitment from one of the largest U.K. electrical distributors in the U.K., which is a really positive step for Stelrad going forward.
clearly, beyond the U.K., there are further opportunities geographically, but we will see, we'll see some traction develop in the second half of this year, and we'll then roll out the a similar strategy in other geo, in other geo- geography, geographies where Stelrad is strong.
Well, I'll jump in, Trevor, and deal with the working capital management, and then you can.
Yes
talk about the market outperformance, so.
Yeah.
The, the working capital management improvement largely relates to inventory management. Historically, we've had to build stocks in the summer months to be able to hit the demand of the heating season. With, with the heating season generally runs September, October, November, when sales volumes tick up quite significantly. In the last couple of years, we've introduced two new lines into Turkey, and we've also invested in the warehousing facilities in Turkey. We're now in a position where we actually can manufacture products when required to meet the demand, so we don't need to build the stocks in the summer months. It's a whole reconfiguration of our manufacturing platform and the, the, the, the, the warehousing and distribution facilities.
We're able to do that, and as Trevor pointed out, our on-time in-full delivery has never been higher, and it's at an extremely high, high, high level. We're able to do that. I really don't think our stocks will fluctuate that much throughout the year, so they're, they're fairly stable. They have been like that probably since the, the back end of last year, and we think we can just hold them at that level. We won't have the uptick in the future that, that we have, because of inventories in the half year.
In terms of market share, in Scott, you will see that we have benefited significantly from the acquisition of DL Radiators. Notwithstanding the DL Radiators benefit to the group, we have made organic gains in most of the markets that we operate in. You know, I think you're aware that we are a market leader in six of the main markets around Europe, and we are continuing to grow market share by following a very clear strategic path, offering very high levels of customer service and, you know, very class, class-leading levels of delivery performance. These are significant barriers to entry and are difficult for our, our competitors to match.
I think the market share data, Scott, largely only comes out once a year, which is in the middle of the year. That's why we've just reported back in 2022. We don't have authoritative data for 2023 yet, but clearly, we see our, our competitors reporting their results. We speak to our customers a lot, and they tell us what's happening in the market, and we think there's no doubt in several of the main markets, our volumes are outperforming the market.
Very clear and very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll now take our next question from Andrea Collins, from Davy. Please go ahead.
Morning, Trevor, morning, George. Hopefully, you can both hear me.
Yeah.
Yes.
Oh, yeah. Great. Congratulations on a really strong set of results this morning. I've just three questions, if that's okay. Just in terms of maintaining your absolute volume and premium radiators, I mean, they're pretty much in line with page one last year. Were there any sort of company initiatives used to support this? Do you have an increased marketing spend? Were there any discounts given out to customers? The second one is on the new electrical products in the U.K.. I guess I'm wondering what sort of premium can be achieved on these sales, in terms of the housebuilder specification, would you expect other housebuilders to follow? I guess, how many of these are being used in a house?
Are they replacing your, kind of, the normal steel panel radiators, or are they kind of incremental radiator sales? Then my third question, if that's okay, is in terms of your, sales through the retail market, would you have any idea of how much, retail sales are now contributing to, to overall sales?
The first question, George, was about premium panel sales?
Yeah. I mean, I think the. I don't think there's any specific initiatives in the last six months on premium panel, other than, sorry. It's really a continuation of all the things we have been doing. Particularly around. It's just an initiative which has been going on for several years now. You know, we've got our brand specialist sales force, which are focused on increasing that, you know, but that's something we've had in place. It really is just more of the same, rather than any new initiatives, unless you can think of any, Trevor. I think it's more the online sales and the brand specialists through the merchants that are focused on improving premium panel. As I said, it's, it's a tick up.
Trevor showed the figures on the slide, whichever the slide was, which shows from 5.7-5.9. I think, you know, you know, well, you, you could be concerned that with the cost of living crisis, that it might have impacted it negatively, but generally, it has followed the wider market trends. As I said, probably, because Western Europe, for instance, Belgium, the penetration is 20%-25%, and that's one of the markets that's been heaviest hit by the current sort of economic crisis. You know, that, that we, we follow the market down there, but so that, that has a disproportionate impact. To grow our, our, our penetration against that backdrop, I think is, is something we're quite proud of.
I think we've heard this, Andrea, that we changed our commercial policy as long ago as 2015, and we introduced a good, better, best approach to promoting our products. That policy has been, you know, developed on a year-on-year basis with, with increasing increasing success. This is a journey we've been on for a few years now, and, you know, our focus on premium panels will continue. I think you hinted at the cost of living crisis clearly has had some impact, but it's very pleasing, despite the high interest rates and high inflation that we're now faced with across Europe, that we're still able to increase our penetration of, of these premium products. Moving on to the electric range, I think your questions were all around what was the premium and what was the specification?
When we, when we launched this product range, or when we planned the launch of this product range in the first half of this year, our product management team did an extensive market benchmarking exercise. We have priced our products, you know, as you would expect, competitively, compared to the long-established existing players that are in the marketplace, particularly in the U.K.. Despite your pricing these products at a competitive level, these products will be value enhancing. They, they will enhance our contribution, and the, and the contribution per product that we anticipate from these is significantly higher than we currently enjoy from the vast range of our standard steel panel radiators. The last question was retail market sales. Do you wanna comment on that?
Well, there's probably two elements, I suppose, retail. There's a consumer sales through online, which you're probably better placed to comment on, Trevor. The other one, the retail sales, you know, the acquisition of DL Radiators has really given us a significant access to the retail channels, particularly in places like France and Italy. It's largely through the DIY, through the, you know, some, the major players in the DIY market. Again, we're using the De'Longhi brand on that product in France, and that's very, you know, it's very important. The De'Longhi brand is much, is, is more seen as a retail brand. You know, so the sales in, in, to DIY in France have certainly increased significantly.
That's great. Thank you.
We'll now take our next question from Edward Prest from Liberum. Please go ahead.
Hello, morning.
Morning.
I guess the, the first one, my first question is in relation to volumes. What sort of potential volumes would you expect to see when, given the post the DL acquisition, when volumes do recover, how high can you go? Secondly, would you, I mean, you'd obviously expect operating margin to improve, but how high would, would you expect that to go, especially with the increased contribution per radiator?
Well, we're, we're really, I guess, talking about longer-term targets here, as in when things recover. We're not making any predictions as to how quickly things will recover, but, you know, I mean, prior to De'Longhi, we were selling, you know, prior to the acquisition, we were selling about 6 million radiators a year, and De'Longhi would have added about 1 million radiators to that. So that, you know, that's the starting, but clearly, we, we expect volumes are gonna be probably down at 5.2 million this year. So the, the... I would imagine when the markets recover, we'll certainly be getting back up in excess of 6 million radiators per year. And operating margin, we've always regarded sort of 15%, so I suppose I'm thinking about EBITDA here, EBITDA margin rather than EBIT, EBIT margin.
Certainly we'd be talking about, sort of margins in excess of 12%, operating profit margins in excess of 12% when things get back to normal.
Okay, brilliant. Thank you.
Thank you. Is there any other questions in the phone queue? I will hand the call back over to Danielle for any web questions.
Thank you. Good morning. Sam Cullen from Peel Hunt has two questions. What do you think is driving premium panel adoption? Is it coming from your own marketing or showroom adoption in the distribution channel, or is it broadly based on increases across geographies, or are there one or two regions seeing much more rapid growth? The 2nd is on pricing. How will you manage pricing going forward? Is there scope for any price deflation?
Do you. Well, we kind of half answered the first question already regarding, sort of premium panel. The premium panel has probably suffered a little bit in the Western European markets where there's high penetration. I don't think there's any markets where there's been, you know, a sea change. The U.K. did improve its penetration in the first half of the year, but it's still relatively modest numbers. You know, U.K. is running about 3%, and it's ticked up a bit. Some of the major markets, like in Western Europe, at 20%, 15% of penetration levels, they've maintained those levels, but on much lower volumes.
It is really the continuation, I think, of our own marketing efforts as we discuss, partly the online sales, which largely focus on premium panel radiators, but also the selling effort we're putting in with our brand specialists. Another factor that will help us there, we recently introduced a hybrid line in Turkey in 2022, which makes vertical radiators. We'll actually now have a better cost position on vertical radiators, which we can use if we see fit. Pricing, I mean, I think the one thing to say about pricing, you know, it's the change in pricing aren't as dramatic as we've seen in 21 and 22.
The, the uplift we see in pricing in this year, in the first half, is probably largely related to the, the full year impact of 2022. We have actually put further increases in selected markets in 2023, but we have rowed back on a couple of these. You know, clearly, steel costs are an interesting dynamic. Having had a number of years of rising steel costs, this, this year, we actually started with steel costs falling in, in the first quarter, but then they rose again in the second quarter, and now they appear to be falling again. I think, you know, we, we've managed to resist price pressure very right throughout the last 18 months, but there has been a little bit more pressure recently.
On the back of falling steel costs and falling energy costs, we may have to give a little bit back on the pricing.
Thank you. The next two questions come from Clyde Lewis at Peel Hunt. Could you please talk a little bit about how you see costs evolving through H2 into 2024? Are your major competitors doing anything to try and recoup their lost market shares? Thanks.
I'll take the first part, Trevor. You can maybe talk about the competitors.
Yeah.
I just, I just kind of referred to in, in answering Sam's question there. We, we, we are at the moment, we are anticipating in the second half of the year, steel costs and energy costs falling. Clearly, you know, we, l abor costs were, were, were something which rose probably in the first half of the year, with inflation being at higher levels than we expected, albeit in Turkey, which is our main labor, labor market, the devaluation of the Turkish lira completely offsets the high inflationary, wage increases we're giving there. You know, the, the main thing we've been doing on costs is just reconfiguring our.
We've got quite a lot of operational agility in terms of our own, our own manufacturing footprint, so we, we are trying to make sure that we, we, we manufacture, we move products around to get the lowest cost manufacture. We, we think costs will actually probably overall trend downwards in the, in the next or in, in the short term because of steel and energy, which are the main, main contributors to that. Do you want to talk about what the competitors are doing, Trevor?
Yes, of course. You- everyone will be aware that we have two quite major competitors who are both themselves PLCs. You know, the question is, you know, is there any increased competitive intensity because of the reductions in market sizes? I think the two comments I'd make here is that when you actually look at our major competitors' current behavior and actions, they tend to be very internally focused. Both our two major PLC competitors are currently trying, you know, to very quickly rightsize their businesses. They don't enjoy the flexible operational footprint that Stelrad enjoys. Neither do either of them enjoy the cost leadership that Stelrad enjoys.
You know, I'm very pleased to advise that, you know, we haven't seen, you know, a significant increase in competitive, competitive activity, as our major competitors tend to be internally focused on trying to sort out their business model.
Thank you. The next question comes from Toby Thorp at Equity Development. He has a couple. The first one is on DL Radiators. Are all revenues reported under Europe? Did it make a profit contribution in H1 2023? What operational actions have been taken since acquisition?
What was the... what was the third one? Could you repeat the third question?
Sorry, this is all with regard to DL Radiators.
Yeah.
What operational actions have been taken since the acquisition?
Right. The first question, George, it was, are all the revenues?
Yeah.
Well-
It's probably best, probably best I answer that then. No, they're not. They have a small amount in the U.K. and a small amount in Turkey and other. It's relatively small. I would say 90, 90% to 95% are in Europe and, but a small amount in the U.K. and a small amount in Turkey and international.
The second question, George, was the business profitable in H1 2023? The answer to that is yes. I could have answered that one, George, I'm not an accountant.
Yeah.
The third one was: Which operational actions have been taken? Well, I'll answer this one. I mean, there has been a considerable amount of activity in terms of operations. Within Stelrad, we have a well-established methodology in terms of ensuring best-in-class performance for all of our operations. De'Longhi has been embraced in that process. We have taken firm action to control costs in De'Longhi. You know, there has been some reductions in terms of headcount. De'Longhi have also benefited from sharing some of our procurement advantages, and we will see that De'Longhi business restructured during the end of 2023, early 2024, to make it more efficient.
Secondly, from Toby on gross margins: Good to see an uplift in H1 2023. Was this a function of input price recovery or mix? What is a reasonable medium-term gross margin percentage target for the business now?
George?
Okay, well, gross margin, slight, slight different definition to, to what we tend. We, we tend to refer to contribution per radiator, which is slightly different with the production overheads, which is what we tend to use as an internal benchmark. Let me just look at where you're picking up the gross margin figure for from, because it is a. Well, there's, there's three elements. Well, there's contribution of gross margin. There's three elements to it. It, it is a recovery of, of input costs. We have had steel price and energy price inflation, and we've put price increases to cover them. We are now seeing them start to trend down.
As they trend down, and we hold on to our sell, our selling prices, we're getting that benefit. The second part of it is the, the, the, the reconfiguration of our manufacturing footprint, which we did a lot of work around about the summer, autumn last year, in terms of reducing the number of crews in our U.K. and our Nuth factory, and utilizing the two new lines we put into Turkey. So, you know, we, we have migrated some production volume from Western Europe to Eastern Europe, which also helps us. I mean, I think the contribution levels and the gross margin levels that we're seeing just now, I think are probably as high as they have, as they have been.
Although in the short term, I expect them to get even higher, I think we are probably approaching the peak of those margins, and we really. It's the volume recovery, when it comes, will be what will improve the result. We're always striving to improve it, but I think the strides we've made in the last three years, in terms of improving gross margins and contributions, you know, is, can't go on indefinitely, and I think we are getting towards the peak of that.
Thank you. That's all the questions from the webcast. Trevor, I'll hand back to you for closing remarks.
I'd just like to restate, I mean, we've had a challenging first half. We have actually performed strongly. We've delivered in line with our expectations, and we remain very confident that we will deliver a full year result in line with the current consensus.