Wolseley completes French sale

The world's biggest plumber's merchant, Wolseley, said it had completed the sale of Brossette, the French plumbing and heating business, to Saint Gobain.

The deal was originally announced in June 2011 and followed a strategic review that saw 19 non-core businesses earmarked for sale.

It will help the company pay down its debts, which had already fallen to £529m in the six months to the end of January, from £933m a year earlier.

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At the time the sale was announced Brossette employed 2,650 staff and had sales of €714m (£629m) in the 2010/11 year.

In March Wolseley reported like-for-like (LFL) sales 5% ahead of the corresponding period a year earlier, maintaining the rate seen in the first quarter.

"Like-for-like growth trends for the group since the end of the [reporting] period have been slightly lower than the first half overall with the US a little better and Europe a little weaker," Chief Executive Ian Meakins said at the time.

"The group faces tougher comparative figures as it enters the second half of the year, so the slowdown in LFL growth is not entirely a surprise."

Group revenue at the half-way stage rose 3% to £6.8bn from £6.6bn the year before, the firm said.

Underlying trading profit rose 16% to £310m from £274m the year before and profit before tax jumped 28% to £250m from £195m a year earlier.

Broker Charles Stanley had forecast profit before tax of £255m.