Travis Perkins’ group trading for the last three months is ahead of expectations, it said in an interim statement.
But the merchanting giant said it was not changing its outlook for 2010 because of uncertainty over the direction of the recession.
Total group turnover was down 11% for the nine months ended September 30, with the merchanting division’s sales dipping by 15.6%. Like-for-like turnover per trading day was reduced by 16.3% during the period, but this lessened to 11.9% in the third quarter.
The Wickes business perfomed better, mainly due to increased awareness about its kitchen and bathroom ranges. Turnover was up 0.7%, with core products down 3% but showroom items up by 20.8%.
Wickes’ like-for-like turnover per trading day was up 7.8% for the last 13 weeks.
“Volume relative to peak levels in early 2008 has yet to show signs of sustained improvement and pricing pressure remains with the rate of sales price inflation continuing to decline,” the company said.
