| Master Investor Magazine
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The share price of FTSE 100 plumbing supplies firm Ferguson (LON:FERG) has dropped by 1.92% to 6,530p (as of 09:40 GMT) despite the firm posting a 5.3% rise in revenues for the three months to 31st October. The company performed well in the US, gaining market share in an industry that has been broadly flat, but the Canadian and non-ongoing UK arms fell backwards.
CEO Kevin Murphy commented: “Ferguson continued to take market share against a backdrop of flat US markets and we remain firmly focused on maximizing organic revenue growth, while tightly managing gross margins and costs. We are pleased that this disciplined approach enabled us to grow US trading profit in line with revenue growth in the quarter. Cash generation in the quarter was good and our balance sheet remains strong. We will continue to invest organically in our businesses and in selective bolt-on acquisitions which will be integrated into our network.
“We expect to make further good progress in the year ahead. While US market growth is currently broadly flat we remain confident of outperforming our end markets and our order books support continued modest revenue growth in the months ahead. This strong focus on growth with continued cost and margin discipline gives us confidence in our expectations for the full year which remain unchanged“.