Grafton up as it builds towards recovery

The price of shares in FTSE 250 building materials retailers Grafton Group (LON:GFTU) climbed by 4.89% to 825.50p (as of 14:15 GMT) after the firm reported that revenues and profitability for the four months ended 31st October were ahead of expectations. Adjusted operating profits guidance has been lifted to £130-140 million.

CEO Gavin Slark commented: “I am very grateful for the way that colleagues across the Group have continued to respond to the ongoing pandemic and thank them sincerely for their dedication, commitment and hard work which has enabled our businesses to continue to trade and to support our customers in a safe environment. Despite all the current uncertainties, we are very encouraged by the trading and financial performance of the Group over recent months. Grafton is in a very strong financial position and has a diversified portfolio of market leading businesses with exposure to residential RMI leaving it well placed to benefit from current market trends“.