Interim statement reveals slump in US housing market hits Wolseley's profits although trading in Europe remains strong

The Wolseley Group has seen pre-tax profits drop by almost 15% as it continues to see business hit by the housing slowdown in the US.

An interim management statement released by the company said revenue had risen by 5% against the three months to 31 October last year, but that pre-tax profits were down 鈥渁lmost 15%鈥� owing to challenging conditions in the US.

Trading profits in the North American division of the company were almost a third (30%) lower than at the same time last year, while turnover is down by 10%.

Wolseley has made 1,700 redundancies in the US, and anticipates making a further 1,300 before the end of the year.

The collapse in the American market has been offset by strong trading conditions in Europe, where turnover has improved by 25% and trading profit by 15%.

The European performance has been bolstered by 10 鈥榖olt-on鈥� acquisitions worth 拢170m made in the course of the year. The group expects the firms to add 拢219m to group turnover by the end of the full year.

Chip Hornsby, group chief executive, said: 鈥淲e remain confident that with our size, scale and financial strength, we will emerge from this slowdown as a stronger competitor with an excellent platform for future growth.鈥�