Builders' and plumbers' merchant Travis Perkins has reported turnover up 54% to £2.3 billion in its latest six-month financial statement.

The improved performance follows the £800 million acquisition of plumbing and heating specialist BSS late last year.

Integration of the chain is on track, and is expected to save £25 million a year in running costs.

The chain saw a strong like-for-like performance in merchanting with sales increasing 10.7%, outperforming the market by 6%. Travis continues to see benefits from its purchase of BSS a year ago, which increased the company's revenue by 58.2%.

Chief executive Geoff Cooper said: "The difficult market backdrop will continue to put pressure on weaker competitors and will lead to further consolidation in our markets, particularly in merchanting.

The company continues to focus on expansion. In May, its subsidiary Wickes Building Supplies, acquired 13 properties from its rival Focus for a total of £8.4 million. Travis Perkins expects to be operating from at least 212 stores by the end of the year.

Cooper said: "We are now the largest provider of building materials in the UK, and we have market-leading customer propositions that are delivering further gains in market share. We also have an excellent track record of outperforming our market and driving financial performance over a sustained period and consequently look forward to the future with confidence."

At its retail division, Wickes, like-for-like sales rose 0.3%, offset by weaker consumer confidence and tax increases.

ToolStation expanded adding 10 branches since December. It now operates 94 sites and sales increased by 35% year-on-year. Travis expects ToolStation to be profitable this year and Travis intends to exercise its option to acquire the remaining 70% of the equity of ToolStation in January 2012.

For more in-depth information on builders' merchants in the UK, visit www.buildersmerchantsnews.co.uk.