Like-for-like sales growth slows at Wickes in third quarter
Travis Perkins has reported that like-for-like sales growth at its consumer division, which includes Wickes, Tile Giant and Toolstation, slowed in its third quarter.
In the three months to 30 September, growth fell to 2.4% from 6.3% in the same quarter a year ago. The company said this was mainly due to more subdued growth in Wickes and “increasingly difficult” market conditions.
John Carter, Travis Perkins chief executive, said: “Trading conditions in our markets continue to be mixed, with consumer discretionary spending under pressure from rising inflation and on-going uncertainty in the UK economy.”
The company said it is continuing to roll out the Toolstation network in the UK and the Netherlands and that the business had achieved “excellent” like-for-like and overall sales growth.
Across the wider Travis Perkins group, third quarter sales rose by 3.5% with a like-for like uplift of 4.1% following a significant improvement in the sales performance at its plumbing and heating division.
Carter added: “We have delivered a good like-for-like sales performance across the group in the third quarter against a challenging market backdrop of input cost inflation and market volatility.
”We maintain our confidence in the long-term fundamental drivers of our markets, and this underpins our plan to invest in our businesses to improve our customer propositions and extend our competitive advantage.”
