Kitchens and joinery products group Howden saw shares surge on Thursday morning after beating forecasts with its 2012 results; however Panmure Gordon has retained its 'sell' rating for the stock after a strong recent performance.

"These are strong full-year results from Howden with pre-tax profit above consensus expectations, a healthy net cash position and dividend increase easily exceeding forecasts," said analyst Andy Brown.

Adjusted pre-tax profit edged higher from £111m to £112m in 2012, ahead of forecasts, but Panmure expects a flat performance this year (£112), below current consensus forecasts (£118.3m).

Brown said: "Against a backdrop of increasing uncertainty on big ticket consumer spend we have a cautious recommendation after a strong move up in the share price."

Including Thursday's 9.03% rise, the stock has jumped 76% over the past year, having risen around 20% in 2013 alone.

"The group still has opportunity to expand its branch network and these take a number of years to mature which provides some visibility ahead for it."

The broker said that the shares are trading at 13.9 times 2013 estimate earnings, well ahead of the five-year average multiple of just 8.4.

BC

Related share prices
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) share price