Kingfisher profits to jump by a fifth
Kingfisher, Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer, said it would meet forecasts for a 20 per cent rise in year profit after posting sales growth and market share gains in its fourth quarter.
“Our established programme of self-help initiatives has continued to serve us well and so we expect to announce full year adjusted profit in line with the current consensus of analyst expectations,” said Chief Executive Ian Cheshire.
This stood at £799m, prior to the update, up from £670m in 2010-11.
Kingfisher, which runs British market leader B&Q as well as Castorama and Brico Depot in France and elsewhere, said its total sales rose 4.0 percent on a constant currency basis to 2.36 billion pounds in the 13 weeks to 28 January, its fiscal fourth quarter.
The group, with about 900 stores in eight countries, said sales at Castorama France stores open over a year rose 2.9 percent and were up 5.7 per cent at Brico Depot France stores.
That beat analysts’ forecasts for rises of about 0.9 per cent and two per cent respectively.
Like-for-like sales at B&Q stores in the UK and Ireland fell 2.5 per cent compared with analysts’ expectations of a fall of about 2.0 per cent.
Many European retailers are struggling as disposable incomes are squeezed by rising prices, muted wages growth and government austerity measures, and amid fears the euro zone debt crisis could plunge the region back into recession.