Heating and plumbing supplier Wolseley said its trading profit rose 18 per cent in its financial third quarter to £230 million (€300 million) as strong trading in the US offset ongoing challenges in the UK market.

Revenue for the reporting quarter rose 11 per cent to £3.66 billion, helped by favourable currency translations.

"The commercial and residential markets in the US held up well and we achieved good volume growth, though this continued to be partly offset by weaker Industrial markets and the ongoing impact of commodity price deflation which reduced the US growth rate by 2.3 per cent, "said Ian Meakins, Wolseley's chief executive.

“ The UK heating market continued to be challenging and we continue to take actions to protect profitability,” he said.

Wolseley said it expects trading profits for the full year, before restructuring costs, to be in line with analyst expectations at current exchange rates.

Analysts at Davy in Dublin said that Wolseley’s market update presents a mixed picture.

“While trading results are easily better than what we expected, recent trading has been very subdued and a concern,” Davy said.