Travis Perkins shares (LON: TPK) shares fell on Tuesday after the group revealed an 80% fall in profits for the first six months of the year, as the Coronavirus pandemic halted construction work.
The builders’ merchant saw revenue fall 20% from the same period last year to £2.8bn.
Travis Perkins has over 2,000 sites and branches across the UK, which closed during lockdown – putting construction on pause.
The group has said that an ongoing restructuring programme will save £120m annually. This include shutting 165 branches and axing 2,500 jobs.
The company has said it will not pay an interim dividend.
Nick Roberts, the group’s chief, commented: “Throughout the pandemic, the health and safety of our colleagues and customers has been our primary concern.
“Customer interactions have changed significantly resulting in changes to the way we do business, from increased activity through digital channels through to alterations to our physical store formats in order to maintain safe working practices.
“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 2020.
“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 2 placed to continue to service our customers, support our colleagues, outperform our markets and generate value for our shareholders,” he added.
Travis Perkins (LON: TPK) shares fell on Tuesday morning by 6% (0832GMT).