LONDON: Travis Perkins is expected to report lower profits on Wednesday when the company provides preliminary results for last year's trading.
The group has seen recent glimmers of encouragement at the end of a tough year. In December, the firm reported a steady revival in activity at home improvement arm Wickes, as well as a stabilising the builders' merchant market.
It forecast earnings towards the upper end of market expectations for 2009, although pre-tax profits are still likely to be around 10% down on the £202.5m reported in 2008. The group has seen little signs of 'sustained' recovery so far.
The Travis board takes a cautious view on prospects this year, given the likely pressure on both consumer and trade spending.
Wickes posted strong market share gains in the nine weeks to November 28, but the chain is unlikely to have continued this momentum in the current financial year given the early disruption from January's snow – which scuppered like-for-like sales growth at B&Q.
