Grafton Group has notched up its eleventh successive year of growth on the back of a strong performance by its expanding British operations.
While profits in the Irish division were down marginally, the group managed a strong recovery here in the second half of 2002.
Group sales topped €1 billion for the first time at €1.15 billion compared with €989 million in 2001.
Pre-tax profits were €80.2 million, compared with €67.2 million a year earlier.
Grafton, which is currently integrating its recent €144.2 million acquisition of Jacksons Building Centres, indicated that it was again looking at acquisitions, which would most likely be in the UK.
"We are looking in all areas but we have found that there are more opportunities in the UK than in Ireland," said Mr Michael Chadwick, executive chairman. "We also feel that the UK outlook is stronger than the Irish one."
The UK now accounts for 70 per cent of the turnover at Grafton, which saw sales turnover top €1 billion for the first time.
Analysts expect three-quarters of revenue will come from British operations by the end of the year.
Favourable currency movements last year boosted the bottom line by €17 million. Mr Chadwick accepted a weaker sterling would have a negative effect but it was not something over which the group had any control and did not undermine the strategy of UK expansion.
"Currency movements in recent years have been an added bonus for us but we feel sterling is currently at a level we feel comfortable with," he said.
Sales in the UK rose 23 per cent to €809 million, helped by contributions from 15 acquisitions which boosted the group's network to 227 outlets alongside strong like-for-like growth.
Operating margins grew by half a percentage point to 6.6 per cent.
Within this, acquisitions showed a margin of just 1.4 per cent with existing business featuring a 7 per cent margin.
Analysts said this indicated the potential for margin growth.
In the Irish market, sales grew 4 per cent at a time. While this is down on the 8 per cent growth in 2001, it marks a recovery on the 1.3 per cent fall in first-half sales on the same period in 2001.
The Woodies DIY chain performed particularly strongly, showing 15 per cent growth - 6 per cent once the effect of new store openings is stripped out.
Grafton shares rose 13 cent to €2.83 in strong trade, following yesterday's results.
