Grafton Group's earnings fell 5% in the first months of 2024, weighed down by adverse weather conditions, macroeconomic concerns and falling prices.
The building materials company, which owns the Woodies DIY and Chadwicks brands here, posted group revenue of £669.2m (€782m) for the period January 1 to April 24, a 5% increase compared to the previous year. announced a decrease of %. Underlying revenue decreased by 4.5%. The group said unusually wet weather in the UK and Ireland had contributed to the decline in demand, and activity across the group's businesses remained weak.
Woodies DIY has gotten off to a more positive start to the year with increased revenue despite challenging market conditions. Chadwicks experienced an approximately 6% decline in material prices, benefiting from improving volume trends and a favorable macroeconomic background.
Mr Grafton said demand in the UK refurbishment, maintenance and improvement market was weak, with a 3.5% drop in material prices, combined with poor weather conditions, also contributing to the decline in revenue.
Grafton's retail operations in the UK, Netherlands and Finland saw sales decline between 6.2% and 8.5%, while its manufacturing industry saw sales decline by 17.2%.
The company completed its fourth share buyback program on April 30th, buying back 11.1 million shares at an average price of £9.02 per share.
“Trading during the period remained difficult in most markets and earnings trends were affected by falling prices and unusually wet weather in Ireland and the UK. Looking ahead, we do not expect a sustained recovery in the market in the short term. “We have not, but we do expect profitability to be a little more focused than normal into the second half of the year,” said CEO Eric Born.
“We remain focused on being the provider of choice for our customers, investing in our brand and tightly controlling costs. , and we are confident in the opportunities presented by our cash-generating business and strong balance sheet.”