Wolseley profits drop

Source: Construction Digital

Date :22/09/2008 10:20:47

Building supplies giant Wolseley plc has today, September 22, announced a 75 percent fall in profits.

The leading supplier of construction products, materials and services across Europe and North America, has reported bottom-line pre-tax profits of £145 million for the year to 31 July, compared with £634 million a year earlier.

The period included £76 million of restructuring charges from 270 branch closures and a 7,100 reduction in headcount, mainly in North America.

Another 600 roles have been removed since the start of the new financial year, while property and business disposals of £46 million have been realised.

Chief Executive Chip Hornsby said the actions taken so far left the group well placed to meet its banking covenants over the year. “We have continued to take action to reduce costs and drive working capital improvements in response to challenging market conditions.

“While these conditions have impacted many of our businesses significantly during the year, our employees have done a good job at responding to the tough markets and we are seeing the benefits of our actions."