Travis Perkins has reported higher profits for the past six months, citing “encouraging early progress” in its turnaround. Shares in the company jumped to their highest level for five months in early trading on Tuesday.
The company, which owns the Toolstation brand, saw adjusted operating profits increase by 6.3% to £67 million in the six months to June 30, compared with a year earlier. This came despite revenues sliding by 1.8% to £2.26 billion for the half-year.
Challenging Market Conditions
The construction sector remains subdued, with elevated interest rates and cost inflation weighing on new developments. Travis Perkins said it saw “depressed” activity in the first half of 2026 and stressed that the volatile geopolitical and wider economic backdrop has made building material price inflation “hard to forecast”.
Despite these challenges, the group told shareholders it expects a similar performance in the second half of the year.
Profit Drivers and Sales Decline
Profitability in its merchant business was boosted by passing through price inflation, a more favourable mix of sales and “procurement gains”. The sales drop was largely linked to the merchant business, which continues to face “challenging” market conditions, and there was also a negative impact from the sale of its Staircraft business last year.
Toolstation saw revenues improve by 1.7% as it benefitted from passing on supplier price increases.
CEO Comment
Recently appointed chief executive Gavin Slark said: “We have built on the operational progress made last year, with a new senior leadership team in place and a clear set of priorities.”
“This stability and focus is serving us well as we implement further change. We have made encouraging early progress in rebuilding profitability in the general merchant business and Toolstation UK continues to perform in line with our expectations.”
Shares in the company were up 17% at 670.5p.
