Kingfisher tightens FY profit range as interim earnings rise

(Sharecast News) - B&Q owner Kingfisher lifted the lower end of full year profit guidance despite consumers avoiding 'big ticket' items as it posted interim results in line with expectations. The company on Tuesday said it now expected adjusted pre-tax profit of £510-550m, up from £490-550m. Reported pre-tax profit for the six months to July 31 rose 2.3% to £324m.

Like-for-like sales fell 2.4%, while total sales were down 1.8% to £6.75bn. Kingfisher also upgraded its free cash flow range to £410-460m from £350-£410m.

"Trading overall in the first half was in line with our expectations. This was underpinned by customers continuing to repair, maintain and renovate their existing homes, driving resilient volume trends in our core product categories, said chief executive Thierry Garnier.

"As expected, demand for 'big-ticket' categories has remained weak, in line with the broader market, while seasonal category sales trends have improved since early July. Against this backdrop we maintained a strong focus on effectively managing our costs and inventory."

The company, which owns Brico Depot and Castorama in France along with Screwfix in the UK, said French sales fell 7.2% year on year, citing a soft consumer backdrop, with sales of big-ticket items down 6.8%.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com