Builders merchants and DIY group Grafton has recorded a 5.3% increase in turnover to the end of April.
The group, which operates across the UK and Ireland, said that turnover for the first four months of the year was €676m, an increase of 5.3% on the same four months of 2011.
Turnover in the Irish retailing business was down by 16%, it said in a statement ahead of its AGM today.
Grafton said its Irish merchanting business was down by 9% because of a further decline in spending on household repair, maintenance and improvement.
The group attributed some of the increase in turnover to exchange rates.
And it also mentioned the weather. It said April trading in the DIY business was hit by bad weather which delayed spending on gardening and seasonal products.
This is in comparison to strong trading levels in April last year, when the weather was nice.
