Travis Perkins Plc (LON:TPK), the UK’s largest distributor of building materials, has announced its half year results for the 6 months to 30 June 2026
Resilient performance with early progress in General Merchant turnaround
● Group revenue declined (1.8)% driven by a reduction in volumes in challenging market conditions and the prior year disposal of Staircraft, partially offset by building material price inflation
● Adjusted operating profit excluding property profits held steady at £62m (2025: £62m); Statutory operating profit of £65m (2025: £59m)
● Encouraging early progress in expanding gross margin in the General Merchant, delivered through more effective pass-through of price inflation, favourable sales mix and procurement gains
● Toolstation UK is performing in line with expectations with further growth in revenue, operating margin and return on capital employed. Trading in Toolstation Benelux remains challenging
● Specialist businesses showing resilience with weakness in the new-build market partially offset by improving demand for infrastructure projects
Continued financial strengthening
● Strong cash generation driven by working capital discipline, rigorous capital allocation and active management of the property portfolio
● Significantly strengthened balance sheet with net cash before leases of £55 million (2025: £103 million net debt)
● Net debt / adjusted EBITDA 1.9x (2025: 2.3x), back within the Group’s target range of 1.5x-2.0x
● Interim dividend of 4.0p per share, reflecting the Group’s dividend policy
| £m (unless otherwise stated) | Note | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change |
| Revenue | 2 | 2,258 | 2,300 | (1.8)% |
| Adjusted operating profit¹ | 16a | 67 | 63 | 6.3% |
| Adjusted operating profit excluding property profits¹ | 16c | 62 | 62 | – |
| Adjusted earnings per share¹ | 10b | 15.1p | 13.3p | 13.5% |
| Return on capital employed¹ | 16d | 5.7% | 4.9% | 0.8ppt |
| Net debt / adjusted EBITDA¹ | 16b | 1.9x | 2.3x | 0.4x |
| Ordinary dividend per share | 11 | 4.0p | 4.5p | (11.1)% |
| Operating profit | 65 | 59 | 10.2% | |
| Profit after tax | 30 | 26 | 15.4% |
¹ Alternative performance measures are used to describe the Group’s performance. Details of calculations can be found in the notes listed.
CEO Gavin Slark commented:
“I have enjoyed my first half since joining as CEO in January. I have developed a clear understanding of our many strengths, but also where we need to improve if we are to restore the Group’s financial performance and reach our potential.
We have built on the operational progress made last year, with a new senior leadership team in place and a clear set of priorities. This stability and focus is serving us well as we implement further change. We have made encouraging early progress in rebuilding profitability in the General Merchant and Toolstation UK continues to perform in line with our expectations. We continue to place the customer back at the heart of the business, recognising the value of strong relationships and the importance of providing great service.
Our financial position continues to strengthen and is providing us with the flexibility to invest where we see the best opportunities ahead of any market recovery.
I would like to thank all our colleagues for their dedication and commitment during the first half. We can be confident and optimistic about our future prospects.”
