Building materials group Wolseley said today that it may sell off underperforming units and cut costs further as market conditions remain challenging.
It said that over time, the group's intention is to operate fewer, larger, related businesses in core geographies.
"We won't dally too long if we see a business that can't perform for us in the long term," said Ian Meakins , the group's new chief executive.
"They are beginning to respond to treatment now, but clearly over time, what we want to do is to get those businesses to perform. We will then either reclassify them, or will exit."
The plumbing and heating products giant has been hit hard in the downturn, but Meakins said that the company was seeing some "stabilisation" in its key markets.
In the six months to January 2010, pre-tax losses narrowed to £261m, from £464m a year earlier. Revenues were down 15.1% at £6.3bn.
An analyst at Panmure siad: "The H1 results are better than we had expected although EBITA was in-line, with the difference explained by smaller Construction loan losses and group interest charge. The outlook, as expected, remains challenging, with limited visibility and patchy demand patterns. After a good recent run and full valuation, we stay cautious."
Shares were down 2.65%, or 43p, at 1577p.
