Woodie's owner Grafton 'cautious' over revenue outlook ahead of construction reopening clarity

Chief executive Gavin Slark said he was hopeful Irish construction sites would be able to reopen before the end of April, which would allow Grafton claw back lost sales

Grafton Group chief executive Gavin Slark said the group was 'fairly confident' over its first-half prospects.

Woodie’s DIY owner and construction supply group Grafton has said it is cautious about its revenue prospects for the first half of this year but should be able to recover lost sales volumes if construction sites are allowed to reopen in April.

Chief executive Gavin Slark said the group was “fairly confident” over its first-half prospects, but was cautious about the “unknown”, with the worst-case scenario being a further wave of Covid infections, lockdowns and business closures.

He said he was hopeful Irish construction sites would be able to reopen before the end of April, which would allow Grafton claw back lost sales. Mr Slark said it might be a different story if sites remain closed for six months rather than four months.

He said Grafton’s main Irish-based building supplies distribution business, Chadwicks, has been trading better than expected given the continuation of some essential construction around infrastructure and near-completion projects.

Mr Slark was speaking after Grafton posted a 6% fall in annual revenue, for 2020, to £2.5bn (€2.9bn) and a 7.4% fall in adjusted profits to £166.4m. The bulk of its revenues come from its UK building supplies business. 

However, it said its retail division – Woodie’s DIY here, which makes up 10% of group revenue – had an “exceptional” year, despite a two-month closure, with revenues up 17% and profit rising nearly 80%.

Meanwhile, discount clothing retailer Primark – which trades here as Penneys – has said it expects to suffer about £1.6bn (€1.9bn) in lost sales this year from the bulk of its shops having been forced to close due to Covid restrictions.