Wolseley revenues rise to £3.3bn

Plumbing and heating supplier, Wolseley, posted a strong third quarter trading update which saw its revenues rise to £3.3bn.

The global company, whose UK brands include Plumb Center, Burdens and bcg, reported revenue of the ongoing businesses rose by 12.4% at constant exchange rates for the period ended 30 April, including like-for-like growth of 7.5%.

Trading profit for the ongoing businesses was £195 million, 20.3% ahead of last year at constant exchange rates.

In the UK, like-for-like revenue grew by 7.6% including 1% price deflation.

Acquisitions contributed 4.2% of additional revenue growth, while the Plumbing & Heating business and Pipe & Climate generated “good growth” and the Utilities business “continued to grow strongly”.

Wolseley explained that gross margins in the UK were lower than last year due to a “challenging” plumbing and heating market. Trading profit for the period of £26 million was £2 million ahead of last year.

Ian Meakins, chief executive, said: “Like-for-like revenue growth continued to be good and we outperformed the market in all key regions. Gross margins were ahead as we continued to focus on improving the mix of customers, suppliers and products. Operating expenses were well controlled and we generated decent flow through to trading profit. Strong operating results were also boosted by favourable foreign exchange rate movements.”

Meakins added that cash conversion was in line with their expectations and the company is continouing to invest in developing its business model to deliver better customer service and gain profitable market share.