Travis Perkins revenues rise in full-year results

Travis Perkins has reported a 3.2% increase in revenues for the year ended 31 December 2019.

The buildings and home improvements retailer also saw adjusted operating profit growth of 7.8%, driven by an improved performance at Wickes.

Wickes, which is owned by Travis Perkins, demonstrated a “strong recovery” in performance in 2019, with revenue growth of 7.7% and 8.7% on a like-for-like basis. Growth was primarily driven by “beneficial changes in the competitive market”.

It comes after Travis Perkins revealed plans to demerge with Wickes in the second-quarter of 2020, which will make it a standalone listed business.

The Travis Perkins board believes that the demerger of Wickes will “underpin the creation of enhanced value for shareholders” in both Travis Perkins and Wickes, by “maximising the performance” of both businesses through focused capital allocation decisions made by dedicated management teams.

Nick Roberts, chief executive officer, said: “Against a challenging market backdrop we have delivered a strong operational and financial performance across the group.

“Our merchanting businesses gained market share as a result of a range of initiatives to improve our customer proposition, including increased local empowerment for our branch managers, while the pace of the Toolstation expansion accelerated.”

He added: “The actions put in place to improve our Wickes and Plumbing and Heating businesses meant that both recovered well during the year and made positive contributions towards the group’s overall performance.

“Our strategic progress in 2019 has been significant, but there remains much work to do in order to build stronger foundations for the group to deliver enhanced returns and long-term growth.”