Solid trading in U.S. and UK lifts Wolseley

LONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - British plumbing supplies group Wolseley (LSE: WOS.L - news) posted like-for-like revenue growth of 3.5 percent in its first quarter, boosted by strong trading in the United States and Britain which offset weaker European markets.

The company, which operates the Plumb Center and Ferguson chains in Britain and the U.S. said trading profit for the group was up 9 percent to 218 million pounds ($355 million) in the three months to the end of October as tight cost control helped it to improve gross margins to 27.6 percent.

Revenue came in at 3.5 billion pounds, up 3.5 percent on a like-for-like basis.

Wolseley reported strong annual results in October and returned 300 million pounds to shareholders after seeing signs of improving confidence in the U.S. and its home market.

"Wolseley has continued to generate good revenue growth in the USA and the UK, although like-for-like revenue declined in the other countries as a result of continued tough market conditions," Chief Executive Ian Meakins said.

The group said like-for-like revenue growth in November had been broadly in line with the first quarter. It said it would continue to manage its cost base tightly and take around 20 million pounds of restructuring costs to trading profit this year.

"So far there are no signs of improvement in market conditions across Continental Europe and we expect trading conditions to remain tough for the foreseeable future," it said.