Travis Perkins has revealed a slump in sales as weaker pricing and waning demand impacted its builders’ merchants business.
The London-listed company also revealed that profits slumped by almost a quarter during a “challenging” year due to continued weakness in the UK construction market.
Travis Perkins said the pace and rate of a recovery in the construction market is still “uncertain and will likely need further cuts to interest rates and an uplift to consumer confidence levels to stimulate a meaningful increase in demand”.
It said pricing has stabilised in the merchanting operation but that sales volumes have continued to decline into the new financial year.
However, it pointed towards growth in its Toolstation business, which was buoyed by new stores.
It came as the group reported that revenues for the firm fell 4.7% to £4.61 billion in 2024 after it was impacted by price deflation and weaker trading volumes.
This was particularly driven by a 6.2% fall in revenues from its merchanting arm, linked to “depressed levels of UK construction activity”.
Meanwhile, its Toolstation business saw revenues improve by 2.5% for the year after it opened 17 new stores.
The group saw adjusted operating profits fall by 23.2% to £152 million for the year.
The company is currently searching for a new chief executive after it announced last month that Pete Redfern would leave due to ill health, six months into the role.
Geoff Drabble, chair of Travis Perkins, said: “Whilst uncertainty remains regarding the strength and timing of a recovery in UK construction activity, with more resources re-deployed into customer-facing roles, the group is now better placed to benefit from returning demand.
“This will be supported by disciplined capital allocation, focused on upgrading and protecting our core competitive advantages, and a clear customer-focused strategy owned by the leaders of the business.
“I am confident that this approach will provide attractive returns for shareholders over the medium-term.”
