John Martin, Group Chief Executive, commented:

'I am delighted to report another good year for the Group, in which ongoing trading profit increased to £1,032 million. In the USA, Blended Branches, Waterworks, B2C e-commerce, HVAC, Fire and Fabrication and Facilities Supply generated good growth and gained market share and Industrial revenues recovered in the second half.

'In line with our strategy to generate the best profitable growth in the USA we continued to invest in the further development of our service offerings including the next generation of our e-commerce platforms, expanding our fleet and logistics capabilities and developing adjacent business opportunities.

'Given our strong financial position, which includes proceeds from recent disposals, we are initiating a £500 million share buyback programme which we expect to complete over the next 12 months. The Group will continue to target net debt in the range of 1x to 2x EBITDA, consistent with investment grade credit metrics.

'US markets continue to be favourable, in particular residential and commercial markets where we generate the majority of our revenue. Organic revenue growth in the new financial year has been about 6%. Our business is performing well, we have a strong balance sheet to support our plans and the Board continues to look to the medium-term with confidence.'

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