Wickes Group PLC (LSE:WIX) has reported a fall in annual profit after what it called a “challenging year.”
For the 52 weeks to 31 December 2022, the building materials company posted adjusted pre-tax profit of £75.4mln, which it said was in line with guidance, down from £85.0mln in 2021.
Total revenue rose 1.8% to a record £1.56bn from £1.53bn, adjusted basic EPS fell 12.5% to 23.8p from 27.2p and the dividend was unchanged at 10.9p.
Like-for-like sales rose 3.5% in 2022, giving a three-year increase of 22.8%, with further market share gains in Core, and a strong recovery in delivered Do It For Me (DIFM) sales.
Wickes said 2022 proved to be a challenging year for the market, driven by well-documented challenges facing the consumer.
The group explained the need to combat rising inflation has seen UK and global interest rates rise, and, as a result, house price inflation and transaction volumes are now starting to moderate. It expects this softer economic environment to continue in 2023.
Looking ahead, the firm said in the first 11 weeks of 2023 trading has been in line with expectations.
“Core sales are moderately behind the same period last year, with Trade sales in growth and DIY continues to normalise. In DIFM, delivered sales are slightly ahead year on year due to the elevated order book; ordered sales are in line with the same period in 2022,” Wickes said in a statement.