Wolseley rebrands as Ferguson
Wolseley, the world’s leading specialist distributor of plumbing and heating products, has announced revenue of €9.91 billion (£8.46 billion) for its H1 2017 period. The increase was up 24.5% on 2016. Trading profit increased 25% year on year to £515 million. Net debt at end-January was £1.3 billion, while an interim dividend per share of 36.7p has been announced.
In other news, the company has confirmed that it has decided to exit the Nordic region and that it will switch its reporting to US dollars. The group name will also change to ‘Ferguson plc’. This will align the group’s name with its most significant brand in its largest market where the company generates 84% of group trading profit. The Ferguson brand has been in existence for over 60 years in the USA and is synonymous with high quality and great customer service. The group will continue to maintain the Wolseley trading name in the UK and Canada where it has strong local recognition. The change is subject to shareholder approval.
In commenting on its outlook, John Martin Chief Executive said that “like-for-like revenue growth since the end of the period has been about 4.5pc for the Group and 5.5pc in the USA”.
“We continue to execute our strategy of investing in profitable growth and expansion where appropriate while keeping tight control of the cost base. We expect the Group to make further progress in the second half,” Martin added.
