Wolseley reduces debts and increases revenue and profit

LEAMINGTON heating and plumbing products and building materials firm Wolseley has seen growth in both revenue and profit in its third quarter which ended on April 30.

Revenue was up by 6% to £3.22bn (2012: £3.04bn) with like-for like growth of 2.4%. Ongoing trading profit was up 7% to £150m (2012: £139m).

The firm has also managed to reduce its net debt to £694m, £177 million lower than at 31 January 2013.

Ian Meakins, chief executive, said: “Wolseley continued to make decent progress in the third quarter, with good growth in the USA and the UK offsetting challenging conditions elsewhere in Europe.

“We held our gross margin overall and controlled costs to generate 7.9% trading profit growth in the ongoing business.

“We will continue to pursue operating efficiencies and remain focused on customer service, gaining market share and protecting our gross margins.

“We will manage the cost base of each of our businesses commensurate with market conditions while executing our growth initiatives in the more robust markets.”

Trading in parts of Europe continues to be difficult, however. Like-for-like revenue in central Europe declined by 4.6%.