The recovery in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector has helped Travis Perkins to half-year revenues that were 14.5% ahead of 2019 and up by 44.1% on a like-for-like basis with the continuing businesses.

The company’s results for the six months to June 30 2021, released this morning (August 3) show group revenue of £2.29bn, up 37% on the first six months of 2020, when the pandemic and first UK-wide lockdown closed most branches for a period.

The Merchanting businesses, particularly the Travis Perkins General Merchant, were underpinned by the strong recovery in domestic RMI demand. Overall Merchanting revenue was £1,905m, leading to an adjusted operating profit of £156m, up 11% versus 2019  and an operating margin of 8.2%.

Keyline is starting to see momentum build on a strong infrastructure market, with new housing beginning to recover, making Keyline the beneficiary of being “first on site” as new housing starts gradually pick up. On the other hand, the CCF’s marketplace remains challenging as the “late cycle” trades, specifically new housing and commercial, continue to lag and product availability remains an issue with several core products on restricted supply. In May, the Plumbing & Heating business was sold to an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, for £325m with the deal expected to complete in Q3.

Nick Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, said: “I am delighted with our performance during the first half of 2021. To have executed our planned strategic portfolio actions whilst delivering an excellent trading performance in ever changing market conditions is testament to the hard work and capability of our colleagues across the Group.

“I am particularly pleased with the agility that our teams have shown in responding to rapidly evolving market dynamics whilst always maintaining their focus on customer, colleague and supplier safety.

“This has been particularly noticeable in the Travis Perkins General Merchant where decisive actions taken during the previous two years have enabled us to respond rapidly to customer needs at a local level. Toolstation UK, meanwhile, is on course to deliver another excellent year of growth and our European rollout continues to gather pace.

“Our businesses have continued to play a critical role in the construction sector’s ongoing recovery and, while some uncertainty still remains, the end markets for our trade-focused businesses remain robust.

“As a result, I am cautiously optimistic around the outlook for the business and confident in our ability to make further progress in the second half of the year. We look forward to updating shareholders on our future plans in September.”