GRAFTON THINKS IRISH HOUSING CLOSE TO BOTTOM - Builders merchanting, DIY and mortar manufacturing group Grafton - which is behind the Woodie's, Chadwicks and Heiton Buckley brands - has reported 3% higher revenue of €2.05 billion for last year.
Its underlying profit before tax was up 3% at €42.3m and operating profit was up 13% to €54.7m. In a statement, the group said that the turnaround in performance that started in 2010 continued in 2011 in challenging markets.
Chief executive Gavin Slark said Grafton believed that - taking all the available statistics into account - the Irish housing market was close to or at the bottom.
He said that the main part of the construction market in Ireland now was renovation and repair, as new house building levels were so low.
But Mr Slark said access to credit for spending on refurbishment of houses was a big issue for its customers.
He said Grafton has reduced its workforce in the UK and Ireland by 3,000 over the last four years. Over last few months, it has consolidated a few branches, but Mr Slark said the group trying to maintain its branch network, so that it could be ready whenever the Irish economy picked up.
He said he hoping for a period of stability in 2012, but consumer confidence was still low and there was still a lot of uncertainty.
