The country’s largest builders merchant managed to buck the trend thanks to the integration of BSS following its £800m takeover in late 2010 and improved performance from its existing network.

Results for the year to December 31 2011 show pre-tax profits up to £296.7m from £217.7m while turnover rose to £4,779m from £3,152m.

Like-for-like sales rose 6% with BSS accounting for the rest.

Travis Perkins also bought Toolstation earlier this year but the deal has been flagged up by the OFT.

The company said: “In early February, the OFT contacted us to raise concerns about the acquisition.

“Given our agreement with ToolStation has created a new and robust competitor in the multi-channel market we are surprised they contacted us.

“We are in the process of responding to the initial enquiry and are confident that the issue will be satisfactorily resolved.”

Travis Perkins is expecting the construction market to remain subdued this year with a slight dip in construction volumes.

Geoff Cooper, chief executive, said: “2011 was a good year for Travis Perkins. Despite a depressed construction market, we improved services to customers, gained market share, even before the expansion of our network and exceeded our targets from the integration of BSS, continued to outperform our markets, and won further market share.

“This meant we achieved a good set of financial results with improvements in all key figures.

“Having built the UK’s largest distributor of building materials, we will be focusing on growing returns.

“With the prospect of the market softening as we go into 2012, the continued improvement in our offer to customers and gains from strategic developments will be the engine of this growth.

“Our management team has proven itself capable of performing well in tough markets and outgrowing our competitors.  We look forward to another year of solid progress.”