Kingfisher reports full-year pre-tax income beat despite drop in sales

By Scott Kanowsky

Investing.com — Shares in Kingfisher PLC (LON:) rose on Tuesday after the British home improvement retailer better-than-expected annual income and said its operations were “well positioned” in the current fiscal year.

The company behind DIY brands like B&Q and Screwfix posted adjusted pre-tax profit of £758 million for the 12 months ended on January 31, above Bloomberg consensus estimates of £741.6M. The bottom-line figure dipped by a little over 20% versus the prior year, but the decline was mitigated by a second-half recovery in e-commerce sales.

Chief executive officer Thierry Garnier noted in a statement that like-for-like sales were also 15.6% ahead of pre-pandemic levels, although he flagged that input cost pressures and households crimped by soaring inflation had made the 2022/2023 financial period “challenging.”

“We remain confident in both the growth of our industry, and in our strategic priorities supporting growth ahead of our markets,” Garnier added.

Looking ahead, Kingfisher is targeting further market share growth this year, along with new stores in the U.K., France, Poland, and the Middle East. But, it said it remained committed to managing operating expenses to “partially offset” higher staff, technology, and energy costs.

The group intends to announce a new share buyback program as well following the completion of its existing stock repurchases this year.