Plumb and Build Center parent company won't rule out further job losses as it reveals £766m drop in pre-tax profit for the year to July 31.
Despite cutting its UK and Ireland workforce by 3,083 in the past 12 months, with the closure of 284 branches, Wolseley has stated that it will continue to focus on ways to reduce its cost base.

Commenting on the company's full-year results, which reported a £766m fall in pre-tax profit and 2.5% drop in revenue, group chief executive Ian Meakins said: "Our final results reflect the harsh impact of the economic downturn on the construction industry and consequently Wolseley's business. Maximising operating performance remains our key priority and we will continue to focus on generating cash and lowering the cost base."

Wolseley's UK and Ireland business reported a 15.8% drop in revenue to £2,699 for the year ended July 31, 2009, driven by a 17% fall in organic sales. Trading profit also declined by 68.6% to £55m, compared with £176m the previous year. Over the course of the year, the group closed its distribution centres in Didcot, Chorley, Henfield and Ripon.

The plumbing and heating merchant group, which owns the Plumb Center, Build Center and Pipe Center and Bathstore chains, stated that the Irish construction market "remains severely depressed", with activity levels down 70%. Overall employee numbers for the group in Ireland are now 47% lower than in 2007, at the height of the market.

Plumb and Parts Center delivered a particularly strong performance in the UK and Ireland, with the lightside of the business achieving an overall trading margin of 6%. However, the heavyside building materials brands, especially Build Center, continued to suffer as a result of the struggling UK residential construction market. Wolseley closed 78 Build Center sites over the 12 months to July 31, to focus on more profitable locations.

Across the group's international business, which includes the US, France, Finland and Canada, Wolseley has reduced its workforce by 9,848, closing a total of 653 "underperforming stores".

The group believes market conditions will "remain challenging" in the short-term, driven by tight credit conditions, high levels of foreclosures and rising unemployment. However, the company expects the new residential markets to show "continuing signs of stabilisation", while RMI markets' decline will begin to slow.

Mr Meakins, who was appointed group chief executive in July this year, succeeding Chip Hornsby, concluded: "Overall, we remain cautious as to the outlook for our markets in FY2010, although profit trends in the second half are expected to improve."