20th Apr 2016 10:10
LONDON (Alliance News) - Builders' merchant Travis Perkins PLC said Wednesday an improving repair, maintenance and improvement market was to thank for its robust total and like-for-like sales growth in the first quarter, with trading meeting its expectations.
The FTSE 100-listed group said total sales grew 5.0% in the quarter to the end of March, while like-for-like sales rose 4.2%. On a two-year like-for-like basis, sales have risen by 9.5%, Travis Perkins added.
Like-for-like sales in Travis's General Merchanting division rose 4.7% in the quarter, helped by good growth in heavyside categories and timber, which was supported by continued growth in its kitchen product outlet Benchmarx. In the period, Travis opened five additional Benchmarx showrooms, along with nine Toolstation stores.
The company said Plumbing & Heating trading settled following a volatile few quarters driven by a restructuring programme in 2015. The 2.2% like-for-like sales growth was a mix of encouraging growth in plumbing and heating supplier City Plumbing and broadly flat sales in its Plumbing Trade Supplies business.
Travis added that sales performance of its rebranded City Plumbing branches was in line with expectations. In 2015, Travis converted 114 PTS branches to City Plumbing and closed a further 46 PTS branches as they did "not meet the group's requirements".
Contracts sales grew 2.1% on a like-for-like basis, aided by the eight additional branches of insulation and interior building product CCF opened in 2015, and Travis said there was good growth across the division. Total sales grew 1.4% in the division, which Travis said would have come in higher were it not for the conversion of 13 Keyline branches to the Travis Perkins brand in January. The Travis Perkins business is within the General Merchanting division.
Travis said its Consumer business performed the strongest during the period and saw like-for-like sales rise 7.3%, which was particularly strong given the early date of Easter this year. Travis said both its Toolstation and Tile Giant businesses grew their market share during the period, and Wickes had continued to improve its ranges and customer services.
"All of our businesses demonstrated good growth in the first quarter of 2016, driven by the recovery in the RMI market and by the investments we have made to improve our customer propositions as part of our five-year plan," said Travis Chief Executive John Carter.
Shares in Travis Perkins were down 1.6% at 1,795.00 pence on Wednesday.
By Hannah Boland; [email protected]; @Hannaheboland
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