For the year ended July 31, 2006, UK-based Wolseley plc, global distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a supplier of building materials and services, reported annual revenues for the group increased by more than 25% to $25.32 billion and profit rose by 24.7% to $1.57 billion. U.S. operations accounted for 59% of the revenue, and 60.8% of the trading profit.
Wolseley’s North American division reported revenue of $16.1 billion, up more than 36%. Organic growth was 16.4%. Profit was up 41.5% to $1.08 billion.
Wolseley’s plumbing and heating business, U.S.-based Ferguson, reported revenue of $9.65 billion, up 35.1% in dollars from the previous year. Profit, including acquisitions, was up 40.4% in dollar terms, to $676 million. Ferguson achieved organic growth of 24.3%.
Stock Building Supply, Wolseley’s US building materials business, reported revenue growth in dollars of 27.4% to $5.3 billion with trading profit up 40.6% in dollars to $343 million. Stock’s trading margin increased from 5.9% to 6.5%.
Commenting on the group’s performance, Wolseley CEO Chip Hornsby said: ‘The fragmented nature of the construction materials market in Europe and North America gives us confidence that we can look forward to many more years of substantial growth. Although the slowing U.S. housing market may bring us challenges next year, we will continue to pursue our double-digit growth targets through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth, utilizing our competitive advantages of our scale, people, supply chain and reaping the rewards of our commitment to delivering customer solutions.’
