Investing.com -- Shares of Travis Perkins (LON:TPK) took a hit today after the company issued its second profit warning in just a few months.
At 5:11 am (0911 GMT), Travis Perkins was trading 5.6% lower at £869.96.
“This has not materialised with FY24 guidance cut again and suggesting c.10% consensus downgrades,” said analysts at Jefferies in a note.
The UK's largest supplier of building materials cut its full-year earnings guidance for 2024, citing continued deterioration in its General Merchanting division.
The company reduced its forecast for FY24 EBITA to about £135 million, down from a previous projection of £150 million, which itself had already been revised lower from £160-180 million.
Jefferies analysts noted that the latest cut reflects both company-specific issues and ongoing market weakness, particularly within Travis Perkins' core Merchanting business.
Sales in the General Merchant division have struggled, with like-for-like sales declining by 8.2% in the third quarter of 2024, a deeper drop than the 7.9% fall seen in the second quarter.
Volumes slid by 7.4% in the latest quarter compared to the 4% decrease in Q2.
While the earlier slowdown was partly blamed on election uncertainty affecting specialist merchanting, this quarter's issues are attributed to a loss of market share, pointing to more internal challenges at play.
The company's new CEO, who took over earlier this year, has yet to lay out a detailed turnaround plan, with further clarity expected when full-year results are released.
For now, he has indicated that his immediate focus is on improving branch-level performance and efficiency.
Analysts at Jefferies, however, remain cautious, noting that any plan to regain lost market share could be difficult to execute given the fragmented nature of the industry.
“While some may hope the new CEO is just kitchen-sinking numbers, the scale of weakness in 3Q24 suggests new guidance may be realistic,” Jefferies said.
For now, Travis Perkins is grappling with both a soft UK construction market and internal operational challenges.