Travis Perkins offered investors reason to be optimistic by recording modest revenue growth in the third quarter, with like-for-like sales rising 1.8% in the three months to 30 September 2025.
The building materials supplier said actions taken to sharpen its competitive proposition in the Merchanting segment have improved performance.
Its General Merchant business showed notable improvement, with like-for-like volumes up 2.5% despite a 0.8% decline in price and mix.
However, trading conditions remain challenging in Specialist Merchants’ markets, which continue to face subdued demand. The Labour government can be blamed for the conditions impacting Travis Perkins and the rest of the construction industry.
Travis Perkins shares were down 1% at the time of writing on Thursday, but there is only minor profit taking in the context of recent gains.
“As we outlined at our half year results, in the third quarter we have consciously focused on building top-line momentum and regaining market share in the Merchanting businesses,” said Geoff Drabble, Chair of Travis Perkins.
“I am pleased with how our teams have responded to this challenge with Merchanting returning to revenue growth and our operating performance stabilising.
“In what remains a highly competitive market, we have invested in pricing and targeted promotions and will continue to do so in the near-term. We continue to demonstrate good discipline on capital allocation and overheads which will allow us to reinvest in our proposition and position the Group well as we look forward to Gavin Slark’s arrival as CEO in January.”
Toolstation delivered solid results with like-for-like revenue growth of 2.3% and total revenue up 3.0%. The tool retailer is focusing on strategy execution whilst taking steps to drive further operating margin improvement.
Although Q3 growth will be welcomed, the group will need to do more to prove that the worst is behind them.
For the year to date, the group has seen like-for-like sales decline 0.2%, with total revenue down 1.3%. Merchanting has struggled with a 2.1% fall in total revenue, whilst Toolstation has proved more resilient with growth of 2.8%.
The company said it continues to make good progress on enhancing cash generation, further strengthening its balance sheet.