In its half-year results yesterday, Travis Perkins revealed that total sales at its Wickes chain had declined by 8.5% to £636m, with like-for-likes down 8.2% after its stores were closed for much of the lockdown period.
The shops reopened in late May with the retailer seeing a strong recovery throughout the second quarter. The group highlighted that there had been an acceleration in DIY sales as consumers focused on projects at home, with like-for-like sales surging up 22% in June.
Meanwhile, online sales climbed by 115% in the six month period to 30 June with sales growth particularly strong in the gardening, painting and decorating categories.
Back in March, the group announced that it had placed the demerger of Wickes on hold in order to focus on managing the business through the pandemic. Travis Perkins said yesterday that still intends to pursue the demerger but only when market conditions are more settled and predictable.
The Travis Perkins group saw adjusted operating profit fall by 80.9% to £42m on revenue that declined by 20.2% to £2.79bn.
The group announced back in June that it had commenced a process to close around 165 outlets across its overall estate, representing around 8% of its 2,000-strong network. The closures have mostly affected its builders’ merchant businesses, in particular the Travis Perkins chain, focusing on smaller, less profitable branches.
Nick Roberts, Travis Perkins Chief Executive, said: “Although our financial performance in the first half of 2020 was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and we have had to undertake a restructuring programme in light of the challenging outlook for the group’s end markets, we have made significant strategic and operational progress against the four strategic priorities we outlined at our full year results in March.”
Looking ahead, he added: “Although considerable uncertainty around the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic remains, the actions we have taken to adapt and innovate in our businesses mean that the group is well placed to continue to service our customers, support our colleagues, outperform our markets and generate value for our shareholders.”
