Travis Perkins recovers but wary

29th Jul 2010 12:51

Travis Perkins beat expectations as underlying first half profits jumped by a quarter, but the Wickes owner says trading patterns still remain hard to predict.In July, for instance like-for-like sales are 10% ahead in merchanting but Wickes core like-for-like sales are down 1.5% and K&B ordered sales are down 1.1%. "Overall, we expect the market in 2010 to be a little stronger than management's original expectations, even after a probable weakening, in the second half-year, of current growth trends," chief executive Geoff Cooper said.In the six months to June, underlying profits rose 24% to £122m with pre-tax profits 18% ahead at £107.2m. Sales rose from £1.45bn to £1.52bn. As previously predicted, there is a restored interim dividend of 5p.