Kingfisher sees profits drop 30%

Kingfisher has seen its profits fall 30% during the first half of the year ending 31 July, after reporting pre-tax profits of £474m compared with £677m at the same stage last year.

The firm also saw sales fall by 4.1% on a like-for-like basis to £6,809m, although the home improvements retailer noted that its sales are now “significantly ahead” of pre-pandemic levels.

The company said it had made an “encouraging” start to trading in the second half of the year with third quarter like-for-like sales up 15.2% on a three-year basis to September 17, 2022, helped by continued resilience in outdoor and ‘big-ticket’ category items, although like-for-like sales on a one-year basis were down 0.7%.

Kingfisher said that current trading, combined with the first half performance, is consistent with current profit guidance of £770m, although it added that it has looked at alternative trading scenarios for the rest of the year which point to a pre-tax profit range of around £730mln to £770mln.

Kingfisher said it plans to target further market share growth but anticipates full-year gross margins to be in line with pre-pandemic levels of around 37%.

Thierry Garnier, Kingfisher’s chief executive officer, said: “Looking to the months ahead, although trading in the year to date has been in line with our expectations, we remain vigilant against the more uncertain economic outlook.”