UK-based Wolseley will report on its sales and profits this Wednesday, July 16. (Look for coverage on mdm.com that day.) Wolseley owns Stock Building Supply and Ferguson in North America.
Apparently, at that time building materials, plumbing and HVAC distributor Wolseley is also planning to announce more job cuts after already laying off thousands this year. According to at least two top British newspapers -the Financial Times and the Telegraph -the company will shed hundreds of jobs.” Of course, it’s not news that Wolseley, along with other distributors with exposure to residential markets in the U.S., is struggling and not yet on the road to recovery.
The news on Wolseley comes as the UK and other parts of Europe are reportedly seeing major weakness in their …
Latest In Wolseley
Here’s our take based on MDM’s knowledge of the distribution world on the rumors flying around the Web about UK-based Wolseley plc, global building materials/plumbing/HVAC distributor and parent company to Stock Building Supply and Ferguson in the U.S.
According to some reports, Wolseley is at risk of breaching its bank covenants” -here’s an article from the Telegraph. The company is significantly exposed to the U.S. residential markets and up until this year has been an aggressive strategic acquirer. To improve its financial situation, the company has been aggressively cutting costs in its U.S.-based businesses, closing branches and reducing staff. In its last …
Wolseley revenues for the six months ended Jan. 31, 2008, increased 2% to £8.02 billion (US$16 billion at current exchange rates) Profit fell 23.1% for the period primarily due to losses at Stock Building Supply in the U.S.
Where Stock is concerned, the market has deteriorated considerably. It’s beyond anything that we’ve experienced, in my view, since World War II. If you look at housing starts, they’ve dropped from 2.2 million to under 1 million. We’re in a situation where we’ve made significant headcount and cost reductions,”said Chip Hornsby, Wolseley CEO.
“Now we’ve got to be able to begin to anticipate what’s going to happen next, particularly where that organization is concerned. So we’ve gone in and begun to look at it more from a strategic standpoint …
Wolseley plc, global distributor of plumbing and heating products and a supplier of building materials, announced five bolt-on acquisitions for £33 million (US$66.5 million at current exchange rates).
In a full year, these bolt-on acquisitions are expected to add £45 million (US$90.7 million) to total revenue.
Since Aug. 1, 2007, the start of Wolseley’s financial year, a total of 15 bolt-on acquisitions in Europe and North America have been completed for £203 million. These 15 acquisitions are expected to add £263 million (US$530 million) to Group revenue in a full year.
North America
Ferguson has acquired C.B. Group, Inc. trading as JC Plumbing Supply. JC Plumbing is a distributor operating from two facilities in …
Global building products and plumbing/HVAC distributor Wolseley plc reported a 25% drop in profit for the five months ended Dec. 31, 2007. Full half-year results will be announced in March. Revenue was up 2%.
The UK-based company was hit hardest in North America, where profit was down 40% and revenue down 10% (5% in constant currency). Year-to-date, 3,000 people have been laid off at Stock Building Supply and Ferguson in the U.S. due to tough conditions in the U.S. Wolseley has implemented a general headcount freeze” for both continents on which it operates.
The company blamed the “worsening U.S. housing market, low consumer confidence arising from global credit restrictions and the weakness of the U.S. dollar.”
The distributor says “market …
UK-based Wolseley plc will be laying off 1,300 more workers in the U.S. in its second quarter; the global building materials and plumbing distributor reduced headcount by 1,700 in the three months ended Oct. 31, 2007.
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In total to date, layoffs represent a third of Stock Building Supply workforce and 10% of the Ferguson work force.
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Globally, the company is also working to reduce indirect costs, is realigning its management structure and reestablishing priorities in the businesses for the current year.” The roles of Chief Business Development Officer and Chief Operations Officer are being eliminated.  ;
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North American revenue was down 10% (3% in constant currency), and profit was down 30% (25% in constant currency).
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Overall …
Wolseley plc, the UK-based global distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a supplier of building materials, announced five bolt-on acquisitions for an aggregate of 84 million pounds Sterling (US$174 million).
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In a full year, these bolt-on acquisitions are expected to add 109 million pounds (US$226 million) to total revenue.
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Stock Building Supply has purchased three companies in the U.S. (Article)
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HVAC and plumbing distributor Ferguson has acquired J.D.’s Wholesale Plumbing & Supply, Pagosa Springs, CO. J.D.’s had sales of $0.7 million in 2006.
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Wolseley France has acquired Sofiparts SAS, which designs and assembles roof trusses operating from …
Global HVAC, plumbing and building materials distributor Wolseley plc reports there are no signs yet of any upturn in the U.S. housing market; it is also seeing the repairs, maintenance and improvement market starting to soften. A weaker dollar and price deflation in lumber and panels has also hurt its North American building materials business.
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In its preliminary results report for the year ended July 31, 2007, Wolseley had sales of 16.2 billion pounds (US$32.7 billion), up 14.6% from the previous year. Operating profit fell slightly.
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North American revenues declined slightly overall, reflecting slow sales by Stock Building Supply hit by the weak U.S. residential market. Ferguson, the plumbing/HVAC business, had 5.5% organic growth. Operating profit in …
Stock Building Supply has acquired ProSource Building Supply Ltd, Houston, TX, a construction services business supplying commercial doors, trim, hardwood, related specialty products and installation services.
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In the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, ProSource had revenue of $17.2 million. The acquisition is in line with Stock’s goal of expanding in the commercial and industrial markets.
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Stock Building Supply is a company of Wolseley plc, a global distributor of plumbing and heating products as well as building materials. Wolseley announced five bolt-on acquisitions this month, including two by Ferguson and two in Europe. These acquisitions are expected to add 110 million pounds to total …
Ferguson has acquired Western Air Systems & Controls Inc., an exclusive Trane HVAC distributor for the states of California and Nevada with three facilities. In the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, Western Air had revenue of $59.6 million.
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Ferguson has also acquired Davidson Pipe Company Inc., a pipes, valves and fittings distributor in the New York metropolitan market. In the year ended Sept. 30, 2006, Davidson had revenue of $125.8 million.
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Ferguson is a company of Wolseley plc, a global distributor of plumbing and heating products as well as building materials. Wolseley announced five bolt-on acquisitions this month, including one by Stock Building Supply and two in Europe. These acquisitions are expected to add 110 million pounds  ; to total …
Wolseley plc, UK-based distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a supplier of building materials, announced two bolt-on acquisitions for an aggregate consideration of 9 million pounds Sterling (US$18.72M). In a full year, these bolt on acquisitions are expected to add approximately 14 million pounds (US$29M) to total revenue.
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Since the beginning of the financial year on Aug. 1, 2006, a total of 43 bolt-on acquisitions in Europe and North America have been completed. These 43 acquisitions are expected to add 671 million pounds (US$1.4B) to Group revenue in a full year.
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North America
On July 30, 2007, Ferguson acquired Fire Fab Inc. Fire Fab is a distributor and fabricator of fire safety and suppression …
UK-based Wolseley plc has appointed Dan Parr to vice president of Acquisitions and Business Integration for Wolseley’s North American Division, comprised of Ferguson, Stock Building Supply and Wolseley Canada.
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He will oversee acquisitions, and coordinate business integration and installation into Wolseley’s systems and processes.
Parr began his career with Ferguson in 1988 as an Internal Auditor. He was promoted two years later to internal audit manager and transferred to Atlanta, Ga., in 1993 to become the integration manager for our Hub, Inc. acquisition. Parr returned to headquarters in 1995 as manager of Acquisitions and Installations, and was promoted to director in 2003 and to vice president in …
Wolseley plc has reported it will close 24 more Stock Building Supply branches, primarily in the Midwest. The closures include a 370 headcount reduction.
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The announcement comes after closing 22 branches and reducing headcount by about 4,500 in the past year, or a quarter of total employees.
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Wolseley reported sales at Stock were down nearly 15% in the first 11 months of the fiscal year; commodity price deflation caused revenues to decline a further 10%. Profit was down two-thirds.
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Lumber and structural panel prices, when combined, account for 45% of Stock’s revenues; they have fallen by 21% and 27%, respectively.
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Stock’s results were offset by strong organic growth in the U.S. plumbing and heating business, improved performance …
Wolseley plc, distributor of plumbing and heating products to contractors and a supplier of building materials, has made five bolt-on acquisitions. In a full year, these bolt-on acquisitions are expected to add about 28 million pounds to total revenue.
Since Aug. 1, 2006, the start of Wolseley’s financial year, a total of 41 bolt-on acquisitions in Europe and North America have been completed. These 41 acquisitions are expected to add approximately 656 million pounds (US$1,312 million) to Group revenue in a full year.
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In addition, on Sept. 25, 2006, Wolseley plc completed the acquisition of DT Group, which brings aggregate acquisition spend for the year to 1,713 million pounds (US$3,426 million).
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North America
On May 14, …
UK-based Wolseley plc, distributor of plumbing/HVAC and building materials, recently reported its first-half results, which were brought down by Stock Building Supply in the U.S. and boosted by Ferguson. Wolseley saw 9 percent organic growth in North America, but profit fell 15%. European operations however saw double-digit organic growth, with profit up 33 percent.
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Here are a few graphics from a recent slideshow Wolseley recently posted online on its first-half results. The full presentation is here.
Download the pdf below to see the …
In Part II of MDM’s interview with Wolseley CEO Chip Hornsby, he addresses the differences between the global building materials and HVAC/plumbing distributor’s North American and European markets, and Wolseley’s aim to grow significantly on the European mainland -doubling its market share every five to seven years.
MDM: Can you talk a little about the European distribution landscape?
Chip Hornsby: The first thing I had to understand -we laugh about it all the time -was that in fifth-grade geography they didn’t teach us that there’s another continent out there called the UK. And then there’s Europe. And those 22 miles are bigger than the ocean between us and them. I get asked all …
Wolseley CEO Chip Hornsby sat down with MDM recently to talk about the distributor’s market moves, its localized strategy, the current housing market and the importance of leadership training. Hornsby also addressed the $25-billion global distributor’s potential expansion into new but complementary sectors, which should slow while the company digests the acquisitions it has made in the past 18 months.
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Wolseley is the parent company of Stock Building Supply and HVAC/plumbing distributor Ferguson in the U.S. The second part of this interview, focused on Wolseley’s European ambitions, will be in the March 10 issue of MDM.
MDM: What are the key issues for Wolseley in North America to develop markets in terms of services, product mix, …
UK-based Wolseley plc, global distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and supplier of building materials, reported it continues to be affected by the slowdown in housing and lower lumber prices in the U.S.
For the first five months to Dec. 31, 2006, Wolseley sales increased 15%, with 3% organic growth. Profit was slightly lower. In constant currency, revenue and trading profit would be about 5% higher. Results for the first six months will be reported in mid-March.
Wolseley says the housing slowdown effect was offset by good organic growth in the U.S. plumbing and heating business (Ferguson), an improved performance in continental Europe and contributions from acquisitions.
In the U.S., new housing starts have …
