Merchant Grafton Group, which owns the Buildbase and Jackson Building Centres chains, says trade remained “resilient” in its RMI-focused UK merchanting business, despite pressure on consumer spending.
The Irish-based group’s trading update for the six months ended June 30, 2011 shows a turnover of €997m (2010: €979m).
Turnover in the early months of the year benefited from more favourable weather conditions than in the same period last year and the rate of growth moderated in the second quarter.
UK average daily like-for-like sterling turnover increased by about 4.7%.
Irish turnover for the half year was down by 6% and was impacted by challenging trading conditions in the merchanting and DIY markets. Spending on housing RMI and DIY was lower due to general weakness in the economy, reflecting a decline in incomes and contraction in employment levels.
“The trading environment in the Group’s key markets is proving slow to recover to more normal conditions in light of the continuation of weak mortgage lending and low levels of consumer confidence,” it said.
“However, the Group continues to significantly improve its trading performance from the historically low levels of the recession.”
