Wolseley plc has posted a £261m pre-tax loss (2008: £464m loss) for the six months ended January 31.
The merchant group said trading conditions remain challenging though it is now seeing stabilisation in many of its markets. Its Build Center business has also been classified as an under-performing unit which may be sold off in the future.
The operating loss was £207m (2008: £381m). Group sales reduced 15.1% to £6.3bn, but the like-for-like decline has continued to slow.
Trading profits in the UK business, which includes Build Center, increased by 67.9% to £33m due to cost reduction benefits, and the trading margin grew from 1.4% to 2.7%. The division’s sales reduced 12% to £1.23bn.
Action to reduce divisional staff numbers by 745 was also taken, which is expected to deliver annualised savings of £11m.
Wolseley said the UK RMI market improved slightly during the period, and new residential construction activity continued to stabilise, although remained 41% below the 2007 peak.
“The economic environment continues to provide limited visibility and demand is not consistent across our business units,” the company said.
