Grafton profits suffer dramatic fall from €53.4m to €3.7m

BUILDING materials to DIY group Grafton suffered a dramatic fall in pre-tax profits in the first half of 2009, ground down by the building slumps in its key Irish and British markets.

Profits fell from €53.4 million in the first half of 2008 to €3.7m in 2009, with sales down 31% to just under €1 billion. Earnings per share fell from 20.2 cent to 1.5 cent.

Figures for various parts of the business show that its merchanting division, which accounts for 85% of total sales, saw its profits collapse from €74.9m to €3.4m.