Wickes full-year sales and profits rise as it 'gains market share'

Adjusted operating profit, excluding property profits and the one-off credit for impairment reversals in Toolstation Europe, increased by 11.7% to £87m in the consumer arm, which also includes Tile Giant And Toolstation.

Like-for-likes increased 5.3%, which Travis Perkins said “demonstrates continued strong market share gains”.

Revenue in the division was up 8% to £1.39bn, “well ahead of the DIY market which was broadly flat”, Travis Perkins said. It benefited from Wickes’ “significant range reviews in 2015 providing customers with more clearly defined value, good quality and premium ranges”.

In total Wickes reviewed 36 ranges, introducing ‘take-away’ kitchens, and revamped adhesives and sealants, paint, tiles, flooring and timber.

Further reviews are planned across 32 “smaller or simpler” categories in 2016, including bricks and blocks, take-away bathrooms and garden maintenance.

Adjusted operating margin in the consumer division increased to 6.8% from 6% in the year to December 31.

Travis Perkins said that “after a period of market weakness in the third quarter of the year, the consumer division returned to good growth in the fourth quarter”. This was driven by strong kitchen and bathroom sales at Wickes and continued like-for-like growth and network expansion in Toolstation.

Wickes opened eight new formats in the year, allowing both trade and retail customers to “shop the stores efficiently, whilst also increasing range breadth and availability”.

“The new store layouts maximise product adjacencies, give more focus to seasonal and promotional activities and segregate a more inviting kitchen and bathroom design centre,” Travis Perkins said.

Travis Perkins invested in the online propositions of Wickes and Toolstation, launching a one-hour click-and-collect service across both brands. Online transactions account for “over 8%” of Wickes sales, with half of the growth in 2015 coming through click-and-collect.

The group opened 40 new Toolstation stores in the year with “additional openings committed in 2016”. The group said Toolstation “continued to grow strongly as it invested in lower prices, opened new stores, and delivered an enhanced click-and-collect proposition”.

Tile Giant “performed well” in 2015 with “good” like-for-like sales growth, Travis Perkins said. “The performance exceeded the growth of the tile market with Tile Giant gaining market share.”

Travis Perkins said it invested in technology improvement programmes across the group, resulting in better network connectivity, supply chain systems improvements and new multichannel applications.

Travis Perkins chief executive John Carter said: “The group has delivered a good performance in 2015.

“We believe that the growth drivers in our markets remain strong and welcome the return to growth of mortgage approvals and secondary housing transactions in the second half of 2015.

“This gives us further confidence that through our strategy we will successfully deliver against our medium-term targets of sales outperformance, low double-digit profit growth and improving returns.”