The merchant, which has more than 600 Travis Perkins branded branches around the UK as well as other businesses, also broke through the £5bn sales mark (2012: £4.8bn).
And looking ahead, the group predicts that the only sector that will contract in 2014 will be public sector new build.
"After several years of following a policy of targeting investment towards those projects with very short payback periods and maintaining strong control over costs, the board is now sufficiently confident in the market’s prospects to increase investment for the future," it said.
This will mean capital expenditure increasing to £130-150m in 2014 through new stores, Toolstation "implants" in Wickes branches and investment in supply chain and IT. Responsibilities will also be devolved to divisions.
Travis Perkins said the merchanting business picked up during the second quarter of 2013, with its consumer business – Wickes – remaining subdued until nearly the end of the year.
General merchanting volumes rose 6.7% during the year, with consistent month-on-month selling price inflation by the end of the third quarter.
The general merchanting division recorded an 8.4% annual lift in sales to £1.57bn and a 5.4% increase in operating profits to £176m.
All product categories contributed to this recovery, with particularly strong performances in the lightside and tool-hire categories," it said.
Timber, forest products and lightside categories were reviewed during the year and "trade offers" fixed price promotions continued to help improve price perception.
The group’s consumer division, comprising Wickes and Toolstation, saw a 2.4% lift in revenue to £1.18bn but operating profits were down to £63m as a result of promotional deals and price reduction measures.
