Jewson reports 6.4% sales boost

A national builders' merchant, which can trace its roots back to the 1830s and now has more than 600 branches across the UK, has soared back into the black after turning around a number of loss-making branches.

Jewson, part of French giant Saint Gobain, also boosted sales by more than £100m.

Newly filed accounts seen by Insider revealed Jewson generated a pre-tax profit of £70.5m in the year to 31 December 2014, a significant improvement on 2013's pre-tax loss of £11.5m.

Revenues also increased by 6.4 per cent to £1.87bn compared to £1.76bn a year earlier and operating profit surged to £29.5m from just £3.6m in 2014.

The company said the spike was down to a 1.1 per cent gross margin improvement and "tight control" over overheads.

A statement signed off by directors said Jewson experienced growth across all three of its key divisions: generalist builders' merchant; plumbing and heating; and insulation and dry lining.

It added that "continued focus" was also put on turning around loss making branches, along with the roll out of specialist activities, including roofing centres and tool hire plants.

"We look forward to further growth in 2015, particularly in our specialist activities," directors said, adding that any improvement will be "dependent on the continued recovery of the housing sector and wider economy".

The first Jewson branch opened in 1836. The group now employs almost 9,000 staff across the UK.

Source : Storm Rannard – Insider Media
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