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Latest In Wolseley
The building materials and plumbing supplies distributor reduced headcount by 9,848 globally during the year.
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Responsibilties for top executive post at the U.S. HVAC/plumbing distributor will be taken over by the CEO of Wolseley North America.
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UK-based Wolseley plc, distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and supplier of building materials, reported revenues from continuing operations were down 1.5% – down 16% on a constant currency basis – to £13.25 billion (US$21.86 billion). Trading profit from continuing operations was down 47%.
The company has completed its review of the Central and Eastern European markets, and has decided to focus on countries in that region where it has built sufficient scale, established leading market positions and can deliver an appropriate financial return. As a result, Wolseley decided to sell its Belgium, Slovakin and Czech Republic businesses. It will retain a presence in Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Holland and Italy.
Action also has …
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Chip Hornsby has resigned as group chief executive of UK-based Wolseley plc, effective immediately. Ian Meakins will succeed Hornsby effective July 13, 2009.
"Wolseley has been through a lot in the last 18 months," a Wolseley spokesman said. "There was a consensus on the board that with a portfolio that was appropriate for the market conditions, now was the right time to make this change." Wolseley recently completed a £1 billion capital-raising in April 2009, and disposed of financially troubled Stock Building Supply through a joint venture with The Gores Group.
The search for Hornsby’s replacement began "three or four months" ago.
Hornsby joined Wolseley with the acquisition of plumbing distributor Ferguson in 1983. He began serving as chief executive in 2006. In his …
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UK-based building materials distributor Wolseley plc reported sales for the nine months ended April 30, 2009, were £12 billion (US$19.2 billion), up 0.2% year-over-year. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, sales were down 15%. Pre-tax profit fell 80% – 88% in constant dollars – to £72 million (US$115 million).
Continued weakness across most markets, led by the commercial and industrial sectors in the U.S., and significant declines in the UK and Ireland and Nordic region, have led to continued cost reduction measures being implemented. These measures include further headcount reductions. In the nine month reporting period, Wolseley has reduced headcount by 13,746 worldwide – including the elimination of 5,317 positions through the exit from …
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Stock Building Supply’s Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection filing was a picture of what many in its sector have gone through since the housing market has fallen from its peak nearly four years ago.
Stock Building Supply’s filing in support of bankruptcy protection outlines UK-based Wolseley’s decision to exit the struggling Raleigh, NC-based building materials distributor. In its fiscal year ended July 31, 2008, Stock recorded a $744 million loss. It had $3.5 billion in sales. The distributor filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection May 6, 2009.
James Major, vice president, finance and strategic planning, wrote that single-family housing starts had dropped by more than 80 percent since their peak in 2005. In addition, declining lumber and panel …
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As part of its filing for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection, Raleigh, NC-based Stock Building Supply will slash an additional 2,220 jobs and close more locations. According to a court filing, the distributor will reject 210 leases where the company has already ceased or plans to cease operations. That number could grow.
In its fiscal year ended July 31, 2008, Stock recorded a $744 million loss. It had $3.5 billion in sales. The distributor filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection May 6, 2009.
The company reported in its filing that it will retain 5,000 jobs, down from 7,220 who are currently employed.
"Without the restructuring and relief provided by the Plan and the additional investments into the business, Stock likely faces a liquidation, which …
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UK-based building materials distributor Wolseley plc has entered into a joint venture of Stock Building Supply with affiliates of U.S.-based The Gores Group LLC. Wolseley will retain a 49% equity interest. One hundred percent of the shares of Stock will be sold to a new joint venture company called NewCo.
Wolseley will hold two board seats in the joint venture. The distributor will continue to be called Stock Building Supply and will be led by the existing Stock management team, including Joe Appelmann as president.
A pre-packaged Chapter 11 reorganization plan will facilitate the sale, according to the distributor. This allows for all trade creditors to be paid, and according to Wolseley, will create a "substantially lower cost base." Obligations to …
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Wolseley examines options for its beleaguered U.S. building materials business unit, which despite dramatic cost reductions continues to be a significant drag on the group’s overall performance.
UK-based distributor Wolseley plc is once again looking to exit its U.S.-based Stock Building Supply operations, this time by Aug. 1, 2009. Even after extensive cost-cutting measures last fall that included reducing headcount by an additional 3,000 and closing 86 branches, the business lost $246 million last year.
Stock Building Supply is heavily reliant on housing starts in the U.S., which declined from around 750,000 in Oct. 2008 to about 460,000 in January.
Enough is enough, John Whybrow, chairman of the board, says in a Webcast …
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UK-based distributor Wolseley plc is once again looking to exit its U.S.-based Stock Building Supply operations with a deadline of Aug. 1, 2009.
Even after extensive cost-cutting measures last fall that included reducing headcount by an additional 3,000 and closing 86 branches, the business lost $246 million last year.
Stock Building Supply is heavily reliant on housing starts in the U.S., which declined from around 750,000 in Oct. 2008 to about 460,000 in January. Enough is enough, John Whybrow, chairman of the board, says in a Webcast on the Wolseley site. “We cannot go on with markets deteriorating like that.”
Wolseley said it prefers a joint venture partner for the business, though closing Stock – the worst-case …
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Acknowledging press reports in recent months, UK-based building materials and plumbing/HVAC distributor Wolseley plc has confirmed that it has held "discussions to consider the merits of an issue of new equity."
"Any decisions will be communicated to shareholders through the appropriate channels at the appropriate time," Wolseley said in a press release.
London’s Financial Times reported this week that hopes were high that Wolseley would unveil a 1.2 billion pounds rights issue (roughly US$1.5 billion).
Wolseley continues to be burdened by high debt levels. It recently announced its net debt had grown to 3 billion pounds (US$3.7 …
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Chip Hornsby, CEO of Wolseley plc, recently spoke at the National Association for Wholesaler-Distributors executive summit about Managing in Today’s Turbulent Economic Environment. In his speech, he offered five concepts executives need to live by in order to address looming questions brought about by today’s economic uncertainty.
Realism: Clearly identify problems for what they are and immediately assess them for the damage they potentially can cause.
Fortitude: “Do what has to be done to deal head-on with our business problems, no matter how unpleasant.”
Proactivity: “Address issues early, directly, and often.”
Perseverance: “See …
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A report from the Sunday Times in England says that global building materials and plumbing distributor Wolseley plc is in talks with investors and private equity groups to raise possibly more than $500 million (converted from British pounds) in what the paper calls a rescue fundraising.
According to the article, a final decision on how much cash is required and whether they will move forward on this will be made in the next three weeks before the end of its financial half year. The distributor will report results next week.
Here is the article.
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UK-based Wolseley plc, distributor of plumbing and heating products and building materials, reported group sales for the three months ended Oct. 31, 2008, were up 2% from the same period a year ago. Profit was down about 30%.
Results continue to be impacted by the events in the financial markets and weakness in the housing markets. The decline in profit was primarily due to lower profitability in Stock Building Supply and Wolseley UK.
While these results reflect a further deterioration in the business environment in the first quarter it was not unexpected, and, we continue to react swiftly to market conditions with aggressive but measured cost reduction,”said Chip Hornsby, group chief executive. “In these unprecedented circumstances, the key priorities remain …
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Wolseley plc, UK-based distributor of plumbing and heating products and building materials, reported it would not sell Stock Building Supply but instead extensively restructure the U.S. building materials distributor.
The company will close 86 branches, bringing the number down to 209. It will be leaving 16 markets in six states, while leaving a presence in 27 states. And Stock will reduce headcount by 3,000. About 8,700 employees will remain. Stock has cut about 55% of its work force since 2006, its peak.
The 86 branches to be closed represent about 25% of Stock’s revenue and 28% of its headcount.
The decision comes after a six-month review of the business.
Chip Hornsby, Group Chief Executive of Wolseley, said: With the ongoing …
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UK-based Wolseley plc has started a fundamental review”of Stock Building Supply’s impact on its overall results, which continued to suffer due to the struggling housing market in the U.S. The company may sell the unit.
“We must acknowledge that further large-scale reduction of Stock will inevitably eat into the infrastructure of the business,”said Chief Executive Chip Hornsby. “It is also abundantly clear that conditions in the new residential market will continue to get worse before it gets better so riding out the storm is not an option for us.”
Stock posted a trading loss of £123 million (US$227 million) for fiscal year 2008. The magnitude of the of loss masks the strong performances of other members of the group, Hornsby said.
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Wolseley has confirmed at least one of the rumors floating around this past summer. It is considering a sale of Stock Building Supply, its building materials arm in the U.S. UK-based Wolseley, a global building materials/plumbing/HVAC distributor, also owns Ferguson.
Wolseley Chief Executive Chip Hornsby said in a Webcast Q&A this week that he expects the new residential market to get worse before it gets better, and that riding out the storm is not an option for us.” He also said that the company had done pretty much all it could do in cutting costs at Stock. “We must acknowledge that further large-scale reduction of Stock will inevitably eat into the infrastructure of the business,” he says.
Stock lost £123 million in the 2008 fiscal year. That’s about …
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UK-based Wolseley plc has started a fundamental review” of Stock Building Supply’s impact on its overall results, which continued to suffer due to the struggling housing market in the U.S. The company may sell the unit.
In the year ended July 31, 2008, Wolseley, a global building materials and plumbing/HVAC distributor, closed 270 branches and reduced headcount by 7,100. Of those 270, 36 were at Stock and 123 were from Ferguson. Of the 7,100, 3,150 were from Stock, and 2,250 from Ferguson.
Since July 31, the company has reduced headcount by an additional 600.
“Financial discipline in terms of cost reduction and cash flow enhancement remains our primary focus to ensure the group remains compliant with our banking covenants and is well positioned for any …
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UK-based Wolseley plc, distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and supplier of building materials, reported overall revenues were up 1% while profits were down 28% for the first 11 months ended June 30, 2008. Wolseley is the parent company of Ferguson and Stock Building Supply in the U.S.
The deterioration in some of our key markets continues and it is likely that conditions will get tougher still,”CEO Chip Hornsby said. “In these unprecedented circumstances, driving cost reduction, enhancing cash flow and closely managing the balance sheet remain key priorities.”
As a result of difficult market conditions, the distributor’s board recommended no final dividend payment to stockholders for 2008, a move that will result in a cash …
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