LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Builders' merchant Travis Perkins said on Tuesday that it had paused the sale of its plumbing and heating business as it reported a jump in third-quarter sales.

The company said it had decided to pause the sale process for the time being due to the current "unprecedented level of uncertainty". Still, the process to demerge Wickes from the Travis Perkins Group is on track and set to be completed in the second quarter of next year.

"The group remains on target to achieve its planned cost reductions in 2019, with actions identified or already underway to achieve £20m to £30m of annualised savings by mid-2020 which will reduce complexity, lower the above-branch cost base and speed up decision making, and improve service levels for customers," it said.

As far as third-quarter trading is concerned, the merchanting business continued to outperform in "challenging" market conditions, with sales up 1.6% on a like-for-like basis, while Toolstation sales were 15.4% higher and Wickes sales rose 9.7%.

Chief executive officer Nick Roberts said: "The group delivered a solid performance in Q3, despite trading conditions becoming incrementally more challenging through the course of the summer as a result of the on-going market uncertainty.

"Though the group maintains a cautious outlook for the near-term, full year performance remains in line with our expectations."

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