Travis Perkins plc profits dropped by more than 80% in the first half of 2020, according to the Group's newly-released interim results.

Half-year figures for the Group, which includes Travis Perkins, Wickes, Toolstation, Benchmarx, Tile Giant and City Plumbing, indicate a 20% drop in revenue compared to the same period last year, from £3.48 bn to £2.78bn.

Adjusted profits for the same period show a drop of 80.9% - falling from £220m last year to £42m in the first half of 2020. Furlough costs of £65m were a major factor in the drop, as well as £20m in additional overheads and inflation.

In June, Travis Perkins announced plans to close 165 stores and cut 2,500 jobs - 9% of its workforce - in response to what it called the ‘challenging outlook’ ahead for trading.

Reacting to the release of the results, CEO Nick Roberts commented: 'Throughout the pandemic, the health and safety of our colleagues and customers has been our primary concern. Customer interactions have changed significantly resulting in changes to the way we do business, from increased activity through digital channels through to alterations to our physical store formats in order to maintain safe working practices.

'Although our financial performance in the first half of 2020 was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and we have had to undertake a restructuring programme in light of the challenging outlook for the Group's end markets, we have made significant strategic and operational progress against the four strategic priorities we outlined at our full year results in March 2020.

More like this

'Although considerable uncertainty around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic remains, the actions we have taken to adapt and innovate in our businesses mean that the Group is well placed to continue to service our customers, support our colleagues, outperform our markets and generate value for our shareholders.'