Builders’ supplies specialist Wolseley racked up losses of more than £750m last year after a raft of one-off charges and remains cautious on the outlook for the current year. Pre-tax losses came in at £766m in the year to July, against a profit of £399m, as the company took write-downs of £595m and restructuring costs of a further £464m. Profit before tax, exceptional items and amortisation and impairment of acquired intangibles reduced by 54% to £293m (2008: £631m), slightly above market forecasts.