Kingfisher, owner of B&Q and Screwfix, cuts its profit forecast
- DIY retailer cuts profit forecast from £634m to £590m
- Statutory profit before tax fell 33% to £317 million in the first half
- The figure does not reach the expected £356 million
B&Q owner Kingfisher has cut its profit forecast for the year, citing low consumer confidence.
Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, has cut its profit forecast for the year from £634m to £590m.
The London-based DIY retailer said statutory pre-tax profit fell by 33 per cent to £317 million for the six months ended July 31, below the £356 million expected.
The London-based company said statutory pre-tax profit fell 33 per cent to £317 million for the six months ended July 31.
The Kingfisher group said this reflected lower operating profit, which fell more than per cent to £367m in the period.
Although comparable sales in the United Kingdom and Ireland rose by 1.7 percent, its Polish and French subsidiaries saw declines of 10.9 percent and 3.8 percent respectively.
The FTSE 100 business also said that overall like-for-like sales were “slightly above expectations” despite being down 2.2 per cent during the first half of the year.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the company saw an increase in operating costs due to higher wages and energy rates, and the impact of the weather caused seasonal sales to fall by 5.9 percent.
kingfisher actions They were down 5.98 per cent to 221.50 pence in morning trading on Tuesday.
Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, said: “Our comparable sales in the first half were slightly above expectations, against a backdrop of unseasonable weather and continued macroeconomic challenges in our markets. We saw good growth in our brands of the UK, with Screwfix gaining significant market share.
‘At the same time, we face strong comps and a weaker business environment in Poland, while consumer confidence in France is at its lowest level in 10 years.
“Overall, demand for our core and higher-priced categories was healthy and we were pleased to see an improving volume trend in these categories over the half.”
In May, the group attributed the impact on purchases of seasonal products during the first quarter of the year to bad weather.
The firm reported an 11.3 percent drop in comparable revenue from seasonal categories for the three months ending in April, as well as a 1.2 percent drop in sales of staples and big-ticket items.
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