Travis Perkins, the builders' & home improvements supplier, has said that its markets have stabilized, however the company added that markets would not likely show growth again until the end of this year.

Commenting on the topic, Company’s CEO Geoff Cooper said, “At this stage there is no clear indication of when our markets might return to growth.”

Travis Perkins, which owns the Wickes DIY and builder suppliers' chain, suffered a fall of 11 per cent in pre-tax profits to 180 million pounds last year.

Revenue slipped 8 per cent to settle at 2.9 billion pounds.

The company said that its mercantile business performed worse than expected, but its retail market performed well owing to good weather conditions and collapse of MFI.

General Election which must take place by June this year is also making market conditions uncertain.

In the after-hours trading, shares in Travis Perkins tumbled by 40½p to 710p-a-sahre on Wednesday.