Corporate profile
Wolseley is the world’s leading
specialist plumbing and heating
distributor.
Wolseley operates in five geographic regions – the United States,
Canada, the Nordic region, the United Kingdom and Central
Europe. We supply customers in the new; repair, maintenance
and improvement (RMI) and civil infrastructure sectors.
Many of our brands hold leading positions in their local markets.
£13,00m
£857m
Group revenue +7.1%**
Trading profit* +14.0%
28.0%
£3,728m
Gross margin
Gross profit
The financial results in this document relate to ongoing businesses only.
Where we operate
£8,337 £m
revenue
USA
£1,987 £m
revenue
UK
£1,863 £m
£708 £m
revenue
Nordics
revenue
Canada
£405 £m
revenue
Central Europe
Investment case summary
Our industry
Our industry – the specialist distribution of plumbing and heating and building materials
principally to trade customers – has a large customer base, a clear need for distributors
in the supply chain and is highly fragmented, with no market dominated by a single player.
60,000
1.1 million
suppliers
customers
7%
59%
US population
growth in next
decade
Sales to RMI market
16.9%
6.4%
Return on gross
capital employed
trading margin
+7.1%
83%
growth in revenue**
revenue from
businesses which
are no. 1 or no. 2
in their market
Our markets
Demand for our products may be influenced by macroeconomic factors such as gross
domestic product (“GDP”), unemployment and consumer confidence. Other key factors
supporting long-term growth in the markets are population growth, ageing housing stock
and increased levels of comfort in homes along with sustainable development.
These markets are attractive and fragmented with excellent growth opportunities.
Our business
We hold leading positions in many of the markets in which we operate. Our knowledge,
local coverage and national scale enable us to operate efficiently and provide a high level
of service to our customers.
Our business has sustained gross margins, attractive returns on capital employed, a
relatively high return on sales, strong cash generation and a strong balance sheet.
Our strategy
Our goal is to deliver long-term sustainable and profitable growth ahead of the market.
We will continue to extend our leading positions in plumbing and heating, and building
materials distribution. Our objective for each business unit strategy is to grow profitability
faster than our competition by gaining both new customers and a greater share of our
existing customers’ business in every branch.
We’ll do this by providing the best customer service, delivered by the best branch staff
in the industry and by partnering with key suppliers in the industry, underpinned by a lowcost efficient operating model.
*This is operating profit before exceptional items and the amortisation and impairment of acquired intangibles.
**Like-for-like change in revenue.
Wolseley plc
Registered in Jersey, company no. 106605
Information and figures are for the year ended 31 July 2015
Corporate profile
Overview by region
UK
USA
Market position
Blended Branches Waterworks 8,337 £m
Fire and Fabrication
revenue
HVAC
Industrial
1
2
2
3
3
•Ferguson is the market leading distributor of plumbing
supplies in the USA
•Strong business model with large scale distribution centre
network and national branch network
•Strong customer service and employee engagement scores
At a glance
Market position
Plumbing and Heating
Pipe and Climate Center
1,987 £m
Utilities
revenue
•The UK is focused on its core, strong businesses with
market leading positions in plumbing and heating and
adjacent businesses
The majority of the UK’s revenue is generated from
the RMI market
At a glance
8,337£m
8.2%
6
1,418
22,171
Revenue (63% of Group)
Trading margin
Business units
Branches
Employees
1,987£m
4.5%
3
758
6,331
Revenue (15% of Group)
Trading margin
Business units
Branches
Employees
Revenue by market sector
Revenue by market sector
% of total 2014/15 revenue
% of total 2014/15 revenue
% of continuing 2015 revenue
% of continuing 2015 revenue
Civil infrastructure
16%
Civil infrastructure 11%
Residential
RMI 28%
Non-residential
new
construction
15%
Residential new
construction 15%
=1
1
2
Non-residential
new construction
15%
Residential new
construction 8%
Non-residential
RMI 26%
Key brands
Wolseley plc
Registered in Jersey, company no. 106605
Non-residential
RMI 14%
Residential
RMI 52%
Key brands
Information and figures are for the year ended 31 July 2015
Corporate profile
Overview by region
Nordics
Canada
Market position
Stark Denmark (building materials)
Beijer Sweden (building materials)
1,863 £m
Stark Finland (building materials)
revenue
Silvan Denmark (DIY)
1
1
2
3
•The leading distributor of building materials in the Nordic
region with number one market positions in Denmark
and Sweden
• A leading retailer in Denmark and Sweden
Market position
2
2
Blended Branches
Waterworks
708 £m
revenue
•A wholesale distributor of plumbing, heating, industrial
and ventilation equipment
•National distribution centre in Ontario and branches located
in all 10 provinces across Canada
•Servicing residential, commercial and industrial sectors
both in the RMI and new construction markets
At a glance
At a glance
1,863£m
3.9%
5
259
6,293
Revenue (14% of Group)
Trading margin
Business units
Branches
Employees
Revenue by market sector
708£m
4.8%
3
226
2,490
Revenue (5% of Group)
Trading margin
Business units
Branches
Employees
Revenue by market sector
% of total 2014/15 revenue
% of total 2014/15 revenue
% of continuing 2015 revenue
% of continuing 2015 revenue
Non-residential
new construction 9%
Civil infrastructure 3%
Non-residential
new construction
23%
Residential
RMI 32%
Residential new
construction
19%
Non-residential
RMI 14%
Residential
RMI 55%
Key brands
Wolseley plc
Registered in Jersey, company no. 106605
Residential new
construction 21%
Non-residential
RMI 24%
Key brands
Information and figures are for the year ended 31 July 2015
Corporate profile
Overview by region
Central Europe
Market positions
1
4
Tobler (Switzerland)
405 £m
Wasco (Netherlands)
revenue
•Tobler is the leading distributor of heating and plumbing
products in Switzerland, generating a substantial proportion
of its sales online
•Wasco is a distributor of heating, plumbing and spare
parts in the Netherlands, primarily serving large regional
and national contractors, as well as small installers.
At a glance
405£m
5.2%
2
78
1,072
Revenue (3% of Group)
Trading margin
Business units
Branches
Employees
Revenue by market sector
% of total 2014/15 revenue
% of continuing 2015 revenue
Non-residential new
construction 7%
Residential
RMI 60%
Residential new
construction
22%
Non-residential
RMI 11%
Key brands
Wolseley plc
Registered in Jersey, company no. 106605
Information and figures are for the year ended 31 July 2015
Corporate profile
Key performance indicators
The Group has used the following performance
indicators to assess its development against
its strategic and financial objectives during the
year. The Group gives prominence to different
indicators as the economic environment changes.
Like for like revenue growth
Gross margin
Labour cost as % of gross profit
%
%
%
5.6
4.8
3.4
4.8
7.1
27.3
27.1
27.7
27.9
28.0
48.8
48.9
47.9
48.1
47.6
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Trading margin
Average cash-to-cash days
Return on gross capital employed
%
%
%
5.2
5.7
6.1
6.3
6.4
54
53
52
49
49
10.6
12.6
14.3
14.8
16.9
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Employee engagement, USA
Customer service, USA
Injury rate
%
%
%
82.3
86.3
90.1
89.8
90.0
56.4
58.8
58.7
64.7
64.7
1.47
1.56
1.59
1.46
1.43
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Customer service
Employees and health and safety
There is a good correlation in our business
between high customer loyalty scores in a
branch and better financial performance.
The safety of Wolseley’s people is
paramount and lost time incident rates
are monitored closely in each of our
businesses. The Group’s health and
safety performance is monitored using
three standard KPIs: medical injury
frequency, lost workdays and vehicle
collision frequency. More information
is provided in the Sustainability section
of the website.
The process of tracking and reporting
customer service differs by region, therefore
an example is given for the USA, the largest
region in the Group.
The net promoter score has remained
flat at 64.7 compared to 2014, reflecting
continuing high service levels.
Wolseley plc
Registered in Jersey, company no. 106605
In addition, all of our business units
measure employee engagement levels
on a regular basis.
Information and figures are for the year ended 31 July 2015
Corporate profile
Senior management
Ian Meakins
John Martin
Group Chief Executive
Chief Financial Officer
Ian was, until April 2009, Chief Executive of Travelex Holdings
Limited, the international foreign exchange and payments
business. Previously he was Chief Executive Officer of Alliance
UniChem plc until its merger with Boots in July 2006. Prior
to that, between 2000 and 2004, he was President, European
Major Markets and Global Supply for Diageo plc, spending
over 12 years with the company in a variety of international
management positions.
John, a chartered accountant, joined the Company as Chief
Financial Officer on 1 April 2010 and assumed management
responsibility for Wolseley Canada from August 2013. He was
previously a partner at Alchemy Partners, the private equity
group, and prior to that was Chief Financial Officer of Travelex
Holding Limited and Hays plc, the business services group.
John started his career at Arthur Andersen before joining
The Stationery Office Group, on its privatisation, where he
was Group Controller.
Frank Roach
Patrick Headon
Chief Executive Officer, North America
Managing Director, Wolseley UK
Frank is Chief Executive Officer of Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.
and responsible for all of the Group’s businesses in the USA.
He first joined Ferguson Enterprises Inc. in 1976 and has
held a number of business roles. In 2005, he was appointed
as Senior Vice President of the Wolseley North America
management team, playing a key part in further developing
and expanding the Group’s North American businesses.
Patrick Headon was appointed Managing Director of Wolseley
UK with effect from 30 March 2015. He is responsible for the
whole of the UK business. He joined Wolseley in May 2012 and
was Managing Director of Wolseley Central Europe from 2013
to March 2015. Prior to joining Wolseley he held the position
of CEO at Switcher SA, the Swiss clothing brand. From 2005
to 2009, Patrick was Business Development Director at eBay
International. Prior to that he spent 8 years in the beverage
industry in general management positions for Diageo plc.
Wolseley plc
Registered in Jersey, company no. 106605
Information and figures are for the year ended 31 July 2015
Corporate profile
Senior management
Tony England
Bob Morrison
Chief Information Officer
Group HR Director
Tony England was appointed Group Chief Information Officer in
October 2010. He joined Wolseley in 2006 as Chief Technology
Officer; in June 2007 the role expanded into the Director of
Service Delivery role, responsible for establishing a group-wide IT
operations and service management function. He was previously
Head of Technology Development and Architecture at Standard
Chartered Bank where he worked for several years. Prior to that
Tony spent five years at Glaxo-Wellcome as member of the major
projects team and leading Infrastructure Development function for
the R&D business.
Bob Morrison was appointed Group Human Resources
Director in April 2007. In this role Bob works with the senior
HR management across the Group, providing leadership and
direction, ensuring that our people practices and Leadership
Development are fully aligned and supportive of our business
strategy. Prior to joining Wolseley, Bob spent five years with
Blockbuster Inc., where he was Senior Vice President of
Human Resources and Operations for Blockbuster’s 3,000
stores outside the United States and Canada. Additionally,
from 1986 to 1994, he was the Vice President of Human
Resources for Burger King Corporation’s International
business. From 1994 to 2001, Bob owned and operated a
retained executive search firm primarily in the United States.
Richard Shoylekov
Group General Counsel
Richard joined Wolseley plc in November 2007. A UK-qualified
lawyer, Richard has responsibility for the Group’s legal affairs,
risk management, governance and compliance processes, and
corporate responsibility. From November 2007 until July 2015
he was also Company Secretary of Wolseley plc. Before joining
Wolseley, Richard was General Counsel and Company Secretary
at Corus Group plc.
Wolseley plc
Registered in Jersey, company no. 106605
Information and figures are for the year ended 31 July 2015
Corporate profile
Financial calendar
10 November 2015
Investment information
FY16 Q1 Interim Management
Statement
22 March 2016
FY16 Half Year Results
1 June 2016
FY16 Q3 Interim Management
Statement
Wolseley’s shares are traded on the LSE under the symbol WOS.
Wolseley’s ADRs are traded on the highest tier of the over-thecounter market in the USA, under the symbol WOSYY.
Contact
Mark Fearon, Director of
Group Communications
and Investor Relations
Wolseley Group Services
Parkview 1220
Arlington Business Park
Theale
Near Reading
RG7 4GA
Subscribe
Nina Coad
Brunswick Group LLP
16 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London WC2A 3ED
www.wolseley.com
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T: +44 (0)20 7404 5959
T: +44 (0)118 929 8700
Wolseley plc
Registered in Jersey, company no. 106605
Information and figures are for the year ended 31 July 2015