Building materials supplier Grafton said today full-year profits are likely to be slightly ahead of forecasts as the group reported that all its businesses are performing well.
The owners of the Woodies DIY chain said it will open five new stores in Ireland with two likely to open before Christmas 2003.
In Britain, the Jackson Building Centres' acquisition completed in March 2003 is achieving good like-for-like sales growth. Jackson's trading performance and profitability are ahead of initial expectations, Grafton said.
In addition, the group has completed the acquisition of three single branch merchanting businesses and opened seven greenfield merchanting branches to date this year in Britain.