In its quarterly interim statement, building supplier Wolseley plc (LSE: WOS) said its overall trading environment was ‘extremely tough’ as the company reported a 13% decline in revenues and a 41% decline in profits compared with 2008. Despite the reduced revenues Wolseley also said the majority of the Group's business units maintained or improved their market share in the quarter.
At approximately $3.3 billion, the company’s revenue for the period improved quarter-on-quarter despite the 13% like-for-like decline compared to the same period last year. Compared to last year, profit reduced by 41% to £104m. The company also said that due to seasonal trends in working capital, net debt increased to £1.2 billion.
Going forward Wolseley said it expects market conditions to remain challenging with the Industrial and Commercial segment being the group’s worst performing business unit.
Wolseley Group Chief Executive commented on the group’s outlook: “The overall trading environment continues to be extremely tough and we remain firmly focused on driving operational performance. We will continue to focus on delivering improved service to our customers, protecting share and gross margin, driving further cost reductions and delivering a good cash performance.”
Shares in Wolseley fell nearly 2% in early deals against a rising FTSE 100.