Grafton Group said sales rose in the third quarter, increasing to €546 million over the three months, compared with €522 million in the same period a year earlier.
In an interim management statement this morning, the company said its trading performance was "steady" during the year, recording reasonably consistent like for like sales increases since February. In the second quarter of the year, the company recorded turnover of €535 million.
Profitability in the third quarter was "well ahead" of last year and this trend has continued into the fourth quarter, Grafton said.
Group turnover to November 17th was €1.7 billion, a marginal rise from the €1.69 billion recorded in the same period a year earlier.
However, the Irish market continued to present challenges for the firm. Merchanting sales continued to fall, although the rate of decline eased throughout the year. Grafton's retailing businesses here saw sales fall 7 per cent over the same period, while group manufacturing sales were down 3 per cent compared to a first half decline of 7 per cent.
In the UK, merchanting sales rose 6 per cent for the year to the end of October. There was also a return to profit in this division, while the Irish unit broke even.
"Retailing has operated profitably and losses in manufacturing were well below last year," the company said in a statement. "Grafton's financial position remains strong with good liquidity and positive cash flows from operations. A good base has been established from which renewed growth in earnings can be generated over the coming years as market conditions normalise."
Shares in the company rose 4.3 per cent on the Dublin market to trade at €3.18 by 3.30pm.
