i'd like some advise on this stock, new to share's but have a large holding at present, company figures look good, but share price seems to be under valued, any thoughts would help, i have a target figure of 22.00 end of year.

Trading Update

Trading Update - Trading in Line with Expectations

Travis Perkins, the largest supplier of building materials in the UK, today issues this trading update for the 11 months to the end of November 2012.

Group turnover for the eleven months to the end of November was up 1.6%. This period included two more trading days in our merchanting and plumbing and heating divisions than for the comparable period in 2011.

In trading conditions that remain difficult, like-for-like sales trends for the Group are similar to those reported in October, with year-to-date like-for-like sales slightly lower at -1.8%, although our specialist Merchanting division has seen a small positive impact from the closure of a competitor.

MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Travis Perkins is primed for house market upswing

By Joanne Hart, Financial Mail On Sunday

PUBLISHED:22:24, 12 January 2013| UPDATED:22:24, 12 January 2013




In 2007, more than 1.6 million homes were sold in Britain. Two years later the figure had fallen to fewer than 850,000 and it has hovered around that level ever since, with just 869,000 sales recorded in 2012.

The rapid and prolonged decline has been disastrous for builders and contractors and should have been equally dreadful for builders’ merchant Travis Perkins – but it has not.


The company has used the recession to acquire rival operators and increase market share to become the country’s largest supplier of building materials, with 2,000 stores and 16 brands, including Wickes and Tile Giant, as well as Travis Perkins itself.





Shed loads: The firm aims to expand to 3,000 outlets in the next few years

The shares have started the year well but at 1218p, they have real long-term potential and should gain ground as the economy begins slowly to recover and consumers become more optimistic.


An Englishman’s home is said to be his castle. In other words, people take pride in their homes and view them as their personal fiefdoms.


However, they are particularly keen to make their property look its sparkling best when they are about to sell it or have just moved somewhere new.


Over many years, therefore, the biggest influence on construction activity has been the scale of property transactions. These have begun to increase.


Although the absolute number of moves was subdued last year, activity picked up in the second half and is expected to continue to do so in 2013 as the Government’s Funding for Lending scheme kicks in, encouraging banks to lend more money.


Mortgage approvals in November (the latest month for which statistics are available) reached 54,036, the highest November figure since 2009 and high street banks are becoming more competitive with their mortgage products.


Recovery is expected to be gradual, but it should deliver material benefits to Travis Perkins, particularly in the second half of the year, when people’s incomes are forecast to begin rising again.


Once the property market becomes more active, renovation work should increase quite sharply. In a survey of 1,000 homeowners carried out in the autumn by stockbroker Liberum Capital, more than 650 people said their homes needed redecoration or repair, so they will probably get cracking pretty quickly once confidence improves.

In the meantime, Travis Perkins has been positioning itself to best advantage. In 2010, it bought plumbing and heating merchant BSS in a £558million cash and share deal, and a year ago it acquired the remaining 70 per cent of fast-growing hardware retailer Toolstation, having bought 30 per cent of the group in 2008.

These deals and other, smaller, transactions have catapulted Travis Perkins to its current, market-leading position and ambitious chief executive Geoff Cooper is keen to expand the business still further.


Over the next few years, he hopes to take the group to 3,000 stores and increase its burgeoning online business.


Most building materials are bought in shops, but online transactions are growing rapidly and Travis Perkins has been upgrading what it offers on the internet to ensure it keeps pace with customer demand.


Cooper has even dipped a toe into the Continent via five Toolstation branches in the Netherlands. Overseas expansion will be measured, but might prove a valuable addition to the group in time.


Back at home, Travis is taking on a new finance director this spring. He is Tony Buffin, a 41-year-old Briton who has spent the past three years in Australia, working as finance director at supermarket giant Coles.

As part of a tight-knit management team, Buffin helped increase Coles’ underlying profits by 63 per cent between 2009 and 2012 and should boost results at Travis too. Brokers expect profits to rise from £263million in 2011 to £310million in the year just ended and £335million for the current year.


The dividend is also forecast to show good progress, increasing from 20p in 2011 to 24p for 2012 and 29p for 2013.


Midas verdict: Travis Perkins prides itself on having the right products on the shelves in sufficient quantities that builders can find what they need when they need it. Staff are trained to offer useful advice and tend to stay with the group for longer than most shop attendants. The company also benefits from its size as this means it can secure the best deals with suppliers. Cooper is a focused and determined leader and the shares should deliver value over three to five years. Buy.

Stonking performance so far this year - unfortunately I only have a peppercorn holding atm.

Does the ''atm'' mean from 8am you may have a few more. :-))

:-) No - I've been selling a few trinkets in the sector - its all getting a bit too 'fizzy' IMO.

lol, May well rise with the Midas tip, 8am will reveal all.

New Group Finance Director to join in April

Further to the announcement on 24 October 2012 regarding the appointment of Tony Buffin as the Company's new Group Finance Director, the Company can now confirm that his date of joining will be 8 April 2013.

Travis Perkins acquires Solfex Energy Systems

Travis Perkins announces the acquisition of renewable energy distribution specialists, Solfex Energy Systems ("Solfex").

Solfex was formed in 2006 by Stuart and Susan Cooper and operates as an integrator of renewable energy systems, using its distribution platform to integrate and supply components to the UK's renewable companies. The business provides a value-added service to customers through comprehensive technical and customer support. In September 2011, it secured equity investment from Panoramic Growth Equity.

Solfex has generated a cumulative annual revenue growth rate of 179% over the past three years, and in December 2012, was listed as the UK's fifth fastest growing private company in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100. In its last financial year, Solfex achieved revenues of £21.9m and an operating profit of £2.2m. Initial cash consideration was £8m with further amounts due depending on performance.

CREF Investment Management > 4%

Preliminary Results

SUSTAINED OPERATING MARGIN AND STRONG CASH GENERATION; FULL YEAR DIVIDEND UP 25%

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

· Group revenue up 1.4% at £4,845m, down 1.4% on a like-for-like basis
· Adjusted operating profit, up 4.3% to £327m, adjusted PBT up 1.1% to £300m, and adjusted EPS up 2.1% to 95.1p
· Reported PBT after exceptional items (note 6 and note 9) up 16.2% to £313m
· Sustained adjusted operating margin to 6.7%
· Free cash flow generated of £242m
· Underlying £155m debt reduction, net debt down to £452m, with lease adjusted net debt to EBITDAR at 3.2x (2011: 3.4x) (note 17)
· Full year dividend of 25p per share up 25%, with adjusted dividend cover now 3.8 times

OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

· Increased BSS synergy target achieved and integration programme near completion
· Toolstation network expansion to 123 branches and Toolstation Europe trial launched in the Netherlands
· Gross margin before synergies increased by 0.2%
· Tight cost control, like-for-like overheads down 2.3%
· Solfex systems acquired on 30 January 2013 for initial consideration of £8m

Very nice chart :-)

New highs today @1,461p

What Travis Perkins (TPK) don't want - after a year in which non-stop rain reduced building site and outdoor DIY activity - is an extended winter that eats into what should be Spring activity. But that's exactly what we have at the moment.

With the share price having gone from 1100 to 1200, 1300 and 1400p in this first 3 months of 2013, there will presumably be a few investors banking profits ahead of the tax year end next week.

Fellow DIY materials supplier B&Q this week announced a plan to cut back floor space and close stores after a drastic drop in sales.

The building materials group Wolsely (WOS) has reported a 20% fall in half year profits to £199m, with strong growth in the US outweighed by problems in Europe and the UK. These conditions have persisted into the third quarter, and analysts reckoned the difficulties probably dampened hopes of a special dividend payout. It has already cut 990 jobs across Europe since August and has announced a restructuring of its French business Reseau Pro which involves the closure of 24 loss making branches and the disposal of 88 others.

Interim Management Statement

Group revenue for the four month period ended 30 April 2013 was 1.2% lower than the corresponding period last year. Like-for-like sales were 1.8% lower.

The very cold start to the year materially affected construction industry activity, and this coupled with continued tough trading conditions, impacted sales. However, our performance in April and early May was encouraging following a return to more normal seasonal weather. The shape of sales for the year so far has been consistent with our guidance, albeit the first quarter volumes were lower than anticipated.

Interim Results

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

· Revenue growth of 1.6%; 0.9% on a like-for-like basis

· Revenue in the final two months of the half increased by 7%, 6.1% like-for-like

· Adjusted profit before tax up £5m to £136m up 4.1%

· Profit after tax of £106m down 18.9%

· Adjusted EPS up 6% to 43.9p from 41.4p

· Net debt reduced by £46m to £406m driven by increased free cash flow of £116m

· 25% increase in interim dividend to 10.0p

OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

· Start to the year very tough with significant deflation

· Considerable step up in performance in May and June

· Strong cost control in General Merchanting division

· Revenue for Specialist division up 8.0%

· Operating margin up 0.4% in Plumbing and Heating

· Acquisition of Solfex in the renewable energy products sector

Trading update on Thursday 17th.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Buy 1,744.00 1,460.00 1,900.00 Upgrades

Deutsche Bank Hold 1,744.00 1,352.00 1,352.00 Reiterates

Interim Management Statement

nterim Management Statement - Encouraging sales momentum in the third quarter

· Total sales growth of 8.6%, 7.1% on comparable trading days basis

· Like-for-like sales growth of 6.3%

· Stronger sales momentum in our trade divisions but consumer markets lagging

· On-track to meet earnings per share of around 100 pence despite lower property disposal gains

Notice of Full Year Results - 26 February 2014

Travis Perkins will announce its 2013 full year results on 26 February 2014. Management will also be hosting a presentation for institutional investors and investment research analysts at 11.00am on the day.

In addition, the following reporting dates have been set for the Company for the remainder of 2014:

2014 first quarter interim management statement 24 April 2014

2014 Annual General Meeting 28 May 2014

2014 Half Year results 31 July 2014

2014 third quarter interim management statement 17 October 2014

2014 Full Year results 26 February 2015