Travis Perkins said it has made “encouraging early progress” in its turnaround after delivering higher profits for the past six months.
Shares in the company jumped to their highest level for five months in early trading on Tuesday as a result.
It comes despite a challenging backdrop in the construction sector, with elevated interest rates and cost inflation weighing on new developments.
The company, which also owns the Toolstation brand, stressed that the sector remains subdued and it saw “depressed” activity in the first half of 2026.
It said the volatile geopolitical and wider economic backdrop has made building material price inflation “hard to forecast”.
However, the group told shareholders it expects a similar performance in the second half of the year.
Travis Perkins reported that adjusted operating profits increased by 6.3% to £67 million in the six months to June 30, compared with a year earlier.
Its merchant business profitability was boosted by passing through price inflation, a more favourable mix of sales and “procurement gains”.
Profits increased despite revenues sliding by 1.8% to £2.26 billion for the half-year.
Travis Perkins told investors the sales drop was largely linked to the merchant business, which continues to face “challenging” market conditions.
It said there was also a negative impact from the sale of its Staircraft business last year.
Toolstation saw revenues improve by 1.7% as it benefitted from passing on supplier price increases.
Recently appointed chief executive Gavin Slark said: “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 business and Toolstation UK continues to perform in line with our expectations.”
Shares in the company were up 17% at 670.5p.
