Ferguson PLC (LON:FERG) will pay shareholders a special dividend of 180c (around 130p) in May following the sale of the Wolseley UK business earlier this year.
Investors will also get a higher interim dividend of 72.9c in May said the builders' merchant and plumbing supplies business, which intends as well to buy back a further US$400mln worth of shares.
Trading was strong in the six months to end January 2021 said Kevin Murphy, chief executive, with good demand from builders and householders carrying out repair work during lockdowns.
“While the outlook for the second half remains very uncertain, we expect to generate above-market revenue growth in good residential markets aided by increasing inflation,” he said.
Murphy cautioned that there was increasing pressure on its supply chain with higher transport costs and some of the temporary savings measures introduced a year ago now reversing.
Revenue in the six months to January rose 4.2% to US$10.3bn with profits 18% higher at US$739mln, a rise principally due to growth in the business combined with excellent cost control, Ferguson said.
Net debt excluding leases fell to US$1.1bn at the end of the half-year from US$1.94bn twelve months earlier.