BUILDING, heating and plumbing supplies group Wolseley has reported rising profits and revenues.

The group said its performance came against tougher European markets, though conditions in the US have improved.

A report revealed pre-tax profits increased from £460m to £698m for the year to July 31.

The company, which operates the Plumb Center chain, added trading profits of ongoing businesses stood at £761m, which was higher than last year’s figure of £731m.

The company, whose UK division employs about 360 people in Ripon, North Yorkshire, working in customer service, IT and finance teams, also saw revenues lift to £12.7bn.

In the UK, the company said like-for-like revenue declined 0.1 per cent in the year, with its Pipe and Climate Center division seeing slightly lower revenues.

Ian Meakins, chief executive, said: “The group delivered a good overall result.

“The stand-out performance was the US where we achieved a record 7.7 per cent trading margin and where our major businesses continued to strongly out-perform their markets.

“Like-for-like revenue was flat in the UK as we focused on protecting gross margins.

“We faced headwinds in Continental Europe and have continued to take actions to protect profitability.”

“We are committed to generating attractive returns for shareholders by maintaining strong capital discipline.

“This year we have increased the dividend by 25 per cent, including a rebasing of 15 per cent announced at the half year, and the board is recommending a final dividend of 55 pence per share, which brings the total dividend for the year to 82.5 pence per share.

“Wolseley continues to be highly cash generative and we have adequate resources to fund future investment in the business, including bolt-on acquisitions and growth in ordinary dividends.

“The overall like-for-like revenue growth rate for the group since the beginning of the new financial year has been broadly in line with quarter four.

“We expect the like-for-like revenue growth rate for the next six months to be about five per cent.