Kingfisher upgrades profit guidance after 9.9% rise in H1 profit
Kingfisher has upgraded its annual profit guidance after posting a 9.9% increase in first half profit to £404 million.
The owner of B&Q and Screwfix said the performance in the six months to 31 July was driven by gross margin expansion, disciplined cost control and a £14 million one-off business rates refund.
Subscribe to TRBIt now expects adjusted pre-tax profit for its full year to come in at £595 million to £635 million compared to a previous guidance of £565 million to £625 million.
Meanwhile, total sales rose by 0.8% to ££6.86 billion in the period, with underlying like-for-like sales up 0.3% driven by higher customer transactions.
The group said market share gains were made at Screwfix and in Poland and Spain. Castorama France and B&Q both held share, but the performance at Brico Dépôt in France was impacted by heatwaves due to its category mix.
Thierry Garnier, chief executive of Kingfisher, said: “We delivered a solid H1 performance, growing sales, gross margin and profits through market share gains and continued momentum across trade, e-commerce, marketplace and group sourcing.
“We are building a stronger, more resilient Kingfisher, with our strategic priorities creating new growth opportunities and strong financial discipline supporting performance across the business.
“While the consumer environment remains mixed, our consistent delivery, strategic progress and opportunities ahead give us the confidence to upgrade our guidance.”
In May, Kingfisher announced that Garnier will be stepping down to become the next president and chief executive officer of Ahold Delhaize.
