Group first half revenue was up 4% on last year. Trading profit of ongoing businesses was up 9% to £360m. Pre-tax profit was up 64% for the six months to £316m (2013 H1 restated: £193m).
More than half – 53% – of Wolseley’s business is in the USA. The UK accounts for 15% of group revenue.
Revenue from the UK in the first half was up 11% to £943m, or 3.2% ahead on a like-for-like basis.
The residential repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) market, which represents approximately 60% of UK revenue, remained resilient, the company said. New residential construction, which represents approximately 5% of UK revenue, continued to grow.
Plumb and Parts Center grew well and improved performance through a focus on higher margin segments. In recent months high volumes of boilers have been installed through the government-sponsored Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, Wolseley said. The majority of energy providers' obligations under this scheme have now been fulfilled.
The integration of Burdens, acquired last year, was said to be progressing well, including the reorganisation of Drain Center. UK gross margins improved before the dilutive impact of the acquisition.
Operating expenses were 10% higher including £10m relating to acquisitions and a £2m bad debt incurred in the first quarter. Headcount reduced by 117 in the first half to 5,835. UK trading profit of £48m was £2m ahead of last year.
The trading margin was 5.1% (2013: 5.4%) with the reduction mostly due to the dilutive impact of Burdens.
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