Kingfisher raises first half profit guidance
Kingfisher has raised its guidance for first half adjusted pre-tax profit after its second quarter performance exceeded expectations.
The owner of B&Q and Screwfix saw its group like-for-like sales edge down 1.3% year-on-year in the quarter, although sales were up 22.3% on the corresponding period two years ago. Online sales were particularly strong with two year growth of 188%.
Thierry Garnier, Kingfisher chief executive, said: “Kingfisher’s performance in the second quarter to date has been ahead of expectations, with positive progress against our strategic priorities continuing to drive share growth in our key markets.
“With very strong comparatives from the previous year, we are pleased to see growth being delivered on a two-year basis across all categories and channels, with ecommerce sales in particular nearly three times higher than the same period in 2019.”
Like-for-like sales climbed by 3.3% in the UK, but there was a decline of 8.9% in France where Kingfisher operates the Bricot Dépôt chain. In Romania and the company’s Iberian region, like-for-like sales rose by 19.6% and 12.3% respectively, although there was a 0.4% fall in Poland.
Kingfisher now anticipates that first half adjusted pre-tax profit will be in the range of around.£645 million to £660 million compared to a previous guidance around £580 million to £600 million.
Looking ahead, Garnier said: “We continue to be encouraged by the supportive long-term trends for our industry and are confident of continued outperformance of our wider markets. We look forward to providing a detailed update on the ‘Powered by Kingfisher’ strategy, our performance and full year outlook at our interim results on 21 September.”
