Grafton’s Irish woes continuing

Group revenue at Irish building materials giant, Grafton was up by 5.3% on a year-on-year basis in the first four months of this year, but further declines have been seen in its operations here.

The Dublin-headquartered group, which derives most of its revenue from its UK builders merchanting division, said that turnover up to the end of April amounted to €676m; up from €642m for the same four-month period last year.

According to the group’s latest trading update — published to coincide with its annual general meeting, yesterday — much of the revenue increase was driven by improved foreign exchange rates and the contribution from Grafton’s stake in its Belgian joint venture.