Building products distributor Wolseley reported its first profit fall in more than a decade today and warned that weakness in the US housing market was spilling over into repairs and maintenance.
Shares in the British firm, which operates the Brooks hardware chain in Ireland,
fell 5 per cent to three-year lows as some analysts cut their profit forecasts for the financial year by around 10 per cent.
Wolseley, the world's biggest distributor of plumbing and heating products, said profit before tax and goodwill amortisation fell 7.3 per cent to £758 million (€1.08 billion) in the year to end-July, slightly below analysts' average forecast of £761.4 million.
Revenue rose 14.6 per cent to £16.2 billion, spurred by acquisitions and the £1.3 billion purchase of Nordic-focused DT Group, which performed ahead of expectations.
Wolseley said uncertainty created by the US subprime mortgage crisis hit sales at a number of its businesses and that it was too early to say whether these trends would continue.
In North America, where Wolseley generates roughly half of group sales, trading profit fell 19 per cent to £487 million, as its building distribution business Stock saw profit tumbling 75 per cent.