Ferguson sales drop 21.4%, but decline is slowing.

Wolseley’s unaudited financial report for its fiscal half-year ended January 31 showed an overall drop in revenues of 15.1% compared with the similar period a year ago. This included a 21.4% decline in revenues to $3.87 billion for its Ferguson unit, Wolseley’s largest business entity, which provides 37% of overall company revenues. Ferguson profits dropped 44% to $159 million.

Wolseley also said that Ferguson further reduced its workforce by 835 in the first half. “This brings the cumulative headcount reduction in Ferguson to 6,946, or 30% of its employees over thetwo and a half years to 31 January 2010,” Wolseley reported.

Despite continuing losses, Wolseley stated that “Ferguson continued to perform ahead of the overall market in the period, despite challenging conditions.”

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