(Reuters) -Britain’s biggest supplier of building materials Travis Perkins warned of weaker 2024 profits on Tuesday, as it expected demand from the UK housing market and construction sectors to remain challenging this year.
Shares dropped 6% in early trade, as the company forecasted the mid-point of its 2024 forecast below market expectations, adding that it was planning for another year of subdued demand.
Travis Perkins reported a 39% drop in annual profit, as it contended with a slowdown in new-build housing and renovations amid a fall in homebuilding and fewer house sales that often prompt improvement work.
It added that it was planning to potentially exit Toolstation France and reviewing strategic options for Toolstation Benelux.
Toolstation is Travis Perkins’ consumer-facing brand, supplying tools and building supplies to trade and do-it-yourself, or DIY, customers.
The company, which operates in the UK, France, Belgium and Netherlands, forecast 2024 adjusted operating profit in the range of 160 million pounds to 180 million pounds ($202.82 million to $228.17 million).
Analysts estimate 2024 profit between 150 million pounds and 231 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus.
($1 = 0.7889 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Rashmi Aich)
