Travis Perkins wary despite bright start

23rd Feb 2011 07:37

Profits jumped by a fifth last year at builders' merchant and DIY shed group Wickes owner Travis Perkins as all 11 of its businesses performed better than the market, though merchanting was the star.Group revenue rose by 8% at £3.2bn, and 5% higher on a like-for-like basis. Adjusted profit before tax up 20% to £217m, though including exceptional charges profits fell from £213m to £197m.There was a strong like-for-like performance in merchanting with a sales increase of 7.3%. though retail was more muted with growth of just 0.2%. Travis said it saw outperformance of around 4% in merchanting and around 6% in retail. Going forward, like-for-like sales in January were up 22% in merchanting, 8% up in newly acquired plumbing supplies group BSS and 12% in retail. In retail, Wickes core is up 12% and kitchen and bathroom up 15%, reflecting the weak comparatives from the snow affected January last year. The first 3 weeks of February saw a 10% increase in like-for-like sales in merchanting, 5% in BSS and a 2% increase in retail on a delivered basis (Wickes core up 3%, kitchens and bathrooms down 2%).Chief executive Geoff Cooper remains cautious for the year overall, especially in retail, despite the bright start."The merchanting market fell by over 30% from its peak in 2008 and although activity has picked up a little, from a longer term perspective, activity levels are currently around 20% below their peak. Although we will probably see some turbulence in short term trends, we expect activity levels to continue their gradual recovery. In contrast, we expect the retail market to continue to be soft," he said.The dividend for the year is 15p, after a 10p final payment.