Wolseley profits from US economic growth

Published:  28 Mar at 6 PM

As reported by the BBC, heating and building materials firm Wolseley has watched profits rise by 28%. The company announced pre-tax profits of £250 million for the six months leading to January 31, a jump from £195 million during the same period the year before.

The firm, which owns Bathstore and Plumb Center in Britain and Ferguson in the United States, said it had watched strong performance in the US and some weakness in the EU.

Wolseley has recently been restructuring through a number of acquisitions and by selling off firms such as Build Center. The group is close to finishing the auction of its Brossette business.

CEO Ian Meakins says the firm had completed some valuable acquisitions in the US and Norway, adding they would be integrated promptly. The group’s like-for-like growth since the period’s end has been slightly less than the first two quarters overall, with the United States faring a little better and the EU a bit weaker, he added.

Wolseley has increased its interim dividend by 33 percent to 20 pence a share. The Leamington Spa-based firm employs 6,670 employees in the United Kingdom, where 15 percent of its profits come from.

The company’s like-for-like sales in Britain fell by 3 percent. The firm said market demand in heating had been subdued, althgouh its other categories had fared well.