Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Independent builders merchants occupy four of the top five spots in the annual BMJ Index, published in the January issue, out this week.
MKM take the top spot with an index of 1,393, followed by High Wycombe’s Grant & Stone with 965, southern plumbers merchant HPS on 342 and Huws Gray of North Wales, last year’s winners with a score of 284.
The BMJ index is calculated by multiplying year-on-year sales growth in percentage terms, stock turn and operating margin. 31 of the top 39 merchants had negative scores.
The figures are calculated using the accounts filed at Companies House. For most of the merchants that means the 2008 financial year, for a few it’s 2007-2008 and there are a couple with 12 month periods ending in 2009. They cover a period when the market was already in decline, but before it got really bad everywhere.
Travis Perkins tops the turnover, net profit, gross profit, operating profit and staff numbers tables, MKM the sales growth one.
Other merchants headlining tables are: Net margin: CW Berry, Stockturn and Staff Productivity: AW Lumb, Gross Margin: AW Champion, Operating Margin: Huws Gray.
