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Travis Perkins PLC on Tuesday said its annual profit decline despite revenue rising, and the company said it will slash 400 jobs and close branches as it looks to keep a lid on costs. Shares in Travis Perkins were down 3.0% to 1,014.50 pence each in London on Tuesday morning. The Northampton, England-based building supplies retailer said 2022 pretax profit fell 20% to £245.0 million from £305.6 million a year earlier. This was despite revenue climbing 8.9% to £4.99 billion from £4.57 billion in 2021. Cost of sales rose 10% to £3.61 billion from £3.28 billion, selling and distribution costs climbed 12% to £816.4 million from £729.6 million and administrative expenses increased 11% to £324.5 million from £291.3 million. Travis Perkins said it made a number of cost reduction actions in the fourth quarter, including 400 staff redundancies and 19 branch closures in the General Merchant and Benchmarx. It said it hopes these measures will deliver around £25 million in cost savings for 2023, including a cost of around £15 million to deliver these changes as being recognised in its 2022 results. Despite this, Travis Perkins upped its total 2022 dividend to 39.0 pence from 38.0p a year earlier. It said it expects cost inflation to moderate in 2023, while it plans for a decline in overall market volume in the mid-to-high single digit range. ‘In the second half of the year we made some difficult decisions in response to the weaker trading environment, and we continue to be watchful of market trends, working closely with our customers and suppliers to stay on the front foot,’ said Chief Executive Officer Nick Roberts. ‘Whilst it is early in the year and macroeconomic uncertainty remains, the combination of our diverse end market exposure, appropriate cost actions and further market share gains driven by continued strategy execution, will enable the group to deliver another resilient trading performance in the year ahead.’ Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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