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Ferguson PLC on Tuesday reported a fall in its third quarter sales, but said it expects low single-digit growth in sales for the financial year. The Wokingham, England-based plumbing and heating products distributor reported net sales of $7.14 billion for the three months ended on April 30, down 2.0% from $7.28 million a year before. The firm said the fall in sales was driven by the 1.9% adverse impact from one fewer sales day and the impact of foreign exchange. Organic revenue declined 2.5% and was largely offset by acquisition growth of 2.4%. Its decrease in net sales was mainly driven by ‘declines in residential, partially offset by growth in non-residential sales compared to the prior year period’, it added. Ferguson said net sales guidance continues to reflect market outperformance, completed acquisitions and one additional sales day. Pretax profit for the quarter was $447 million, down from $690 million. Booked impairments and other charges of $127 million, compared to none the year before. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation dropped by 11% to $705,000 from $795,000 Chief Executive Officer Kevin Murphy said: ‘The year is progressing as expected and our associates again delivered solid results, leveraging our scale and core strengths to help our customers navigate their complex projects. Our balanced business is serving us well in challenging markets. During the quarter we continued to take targeted actions to manage the cost base and working capital to deliver strong cash flows.’ Ferguson declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, up 9% year-on-year. Looking ahead, the firm said it expects low single digit growth for its net sales for financial 2023. Interest expense is expected in the range of $185 million to $195 million. Shares were down 2.3% at 11,525.00 pence each on Tuesday afternoon in London. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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