Parent firm Grafton Group reported a 4.1% lift in total revenue for its retailing division, which includes Irish DIY chain Woodies, for the four months ending October 31.
As economic pressures in Ireland ease, retailing sales in Q2 were boosted by demand for seasonal goods over the summer season, lifting revenue by 8.5%. However, a 12.3% decline in Q2 and the closure of two stores last year, meant that total revenue for the 10 months to October 31 finished marginally down at -1.7%.

The results still mark an improvement on the previous year's performance, when the retailing division reported a 6.5% decline for the four month period July 1 to October 31, 2012. Grafton Group believes the recovery under way in Ireland contributed to improved sentiment but added that consumers remained cautious and, following the peak in summer, sales have shown more modest growth in recent months.

UK merchanting operations, which accounts for 74% of Grafton's group revenue, gave a strong performance, supported by more favourable trading conditions and an improvement in the housing market.

The merchanting side of the business in the UK, which includes Selco, Buildbase and Plumbase, posted a sales increase of 4.1% in the four-month period starting July 1, resulting in a 6.2% rise for the 10 months ended October 31.

Meanwhile, trading in the Irish merchanting side of the business stabilised in the first half, following five years of volume declines. There was an indication of recovery in some regional markets, led by improved demand in the greater Dublin area, Cork and the Mid-West region. The division ended the 10-month period with a 1.1% rise, boosted by revenue in the four months ended October 31, which was up 5.6%.

Overall, the Grafton Group posted sales of £1.6bn for the ten months to the end of October, up 7.4% on the same period last year.

Grafton Group chief executive officer Gavin Slack said: "The housing market in the UK is benefiting from Government-backed initiatives and confidence is slowly but surely returning. This should have a positive, though lagged, effect on Grafton, as housing transactions and household spending on RMI increases. In Ireland, consumer confidence has improved and the merchanting and DIY markets have stabilised at very low levels of activity."