Wickes' interim results for the first half of 2025 show strong profit growth driven by an increase in volumes across both Retail and D&I.
Total revenue for the period were £847.9 million (compared to £803.2 million for the first half of 2024; an increase of 5.6% year-on-year). The company ascribes this to continued strong volume growth in Retail (with revenue up 6.8%) and self-help actions in Design & Installation.
Adjusted profit before tax was up 16.7% to £27.3 million (H1 2024: £23.4 million) reflecting revenue growth, operational
leverage and productivity savings.
In Retail, volume-led revenue growth was driven by a 10% increase in TradePro sales, with a growth in the number of active members to 615,000 (H1 2024: 541,000), combined with mid-single digit growth in DIY sales.
The company registered market share gains particularly in timber, garden maintenance and decorating, and a strong project volume growth in Design & Installation, driven, it says, by actions taken to enhance customer experience.
Over the period, the businss opened one new store at a former Homebase site and completed four refits/refreshes. "Good progress" is being made on plans for five to seven new stores and 10-15 refits/refreshes by th end of the year.
Trading in Q3 so far has been in line with expectations, asthough Wickes expects the phasing of increased employment costs and new stores be felt more fully in H2. Technology investment in SaaS projects will increase P&L costs by about £10 million for the year. Notwithstanding these cost increases, the business sees its strong first half performance and ongoing productivity programme as reason enough to remain comfortable with current expectations for adjusted PBT in 2025.
David Wood, Chief Executive of Wickes, commented: “Wickes has delivered a strong first half, with volume growth across the Group. In Retail, we have achieved record market share growth and have prioritised convenience, choice and speed,
helping grow TradePro sales by a further 10%.
"With DIY, our focus on broadening appeal and innovating in strategic categories has seen more customers choose Wickes to bring their home improvement projects to life. In Design & Installation, the actions we undertook to enhance the customer experience have seen us return to like-for like sales growth, ahead of the wider market for big ticket items.
“Our proven strategy is working. Whilst we remain mindful of the cost headwinds facing the sector as a whole,
continued investment in our growth levers and digital initiatives means we are well positioned for the future and
remain comfortable with market expectations for the full year”.
