Travis Perkins warns of weaker markets
Wickes like for likes down 1.1 per cent
Total turnover in the retail division for the first half was up by 6.3 per cent. Tile Giant represented 2.3 per cent of this increase and Wickes 4.0 per cent. For this period, Wickes like-for-like sales per trading day were down 1.1 per cent, with core products down 1.0 per cent and showroom sales down 1.3 per cent. With price inflation of 2.3 per cent, like-for-like volume in core products was down by 3.3 per cent. Sales trends in the second quarter strengthened slightly, with total like-for-like daily turnover in the last eight weeks up 2.3 per cent over the equivalent period last year.
Geoff Cooper, Chief Executive, commented: ‘As we anticipated and observed in our last full year results statement, 2008 has become a more challenging market and we expect our markets to weaken further as the year progresses. ‘We expect to continue to gain market share on a like-for-like basis across our merchanting and retail brands which will partially compensate for lower market activity.
