LFL growth tapers off a touch at Wolseley

Plumbers' merchant Wolseley, no longer drowning in a sea of debt, felt confident enough to ramp up its interim dividend by a third on the back of strong profits growth, though like-for-like sales growth has tapered off a tad in the last couple of months.

Revenue in the six months to January 31st rose 3% to £6,841m from £6,629m a year earlier. Like-for-like (LFL) sales were up 5%.

Underlying profit before tax jumped 28% to £250m from £195m at the interim stage last year. Charles Stanley had forecast profit before tax of £255m.

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The interim dividend pay-out, at 20p, is much more generous than the 18p Charles Stanley had been expecting.

Adjusted net debt at £529m was down £404m on the end of January 2011 level. The group said debt will be further reduced when it offloads its Brossette division in the near future.

"Like-for-like growth trends for the group since the end of the period have been slightly lower than the first half overall with the US a little better and Europe a little weaker," revealed Ian Meakins, Wolseley's Chief Executive.

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