Travis Perkins (LSE:TPK) new chief executive has started his tenure with a profit warning and said the group had become "distracted and overly internally focused” as its sales slide accelerated in its latest quarter
Pete Redfern, who took over last month, added he will take direct control of the General Merchants business as MD and combine this with his role as CEO of the group. This will allow him to shorten reporting lines and develop a new strategy, he said.
Sales in the three months to the end of September dropped by 5.7% with Merchants down by 7.1% though Toolstation saw a 1.7% improvement.
For the nine months of 2024, sales are down by 4.9% with Merchanting 6.3% lower and Toolstation up by 2.1%.
Because of the Merchanting problems, underlying profits forecast will be around £135 million, against previous guidance of £150 million, said Redfern who added markets are likely to remain subdued during 2025.
“My first few weeks at Travis Perkins Group have reaffirmed that this is a business with many strengths," he observed.
“We now need to get back to a focus on operational execution – delivering great products and great customer service and better leveraging our reach and scale."
Shares fell 6% to 866p.