17th Jun 2020 09:22
(Alliance News) - Kingfisher PLC on Wednesday expressed a confident outlook going forward despite a sharp profit fall in its most recently ended financial year.
The B&Q and Screwfix stores operator reported a 1.5% fall in revenue for the year to the end of January to GBP11.51 billion from GBP11.69 billion. On a constant currency basis, revenue declined by 0.8% year-on-year.
Kingfisher explained that growth at Screwfix in Poland and Romania was offset by weaker sales at B&Q in France, Russia and Iberia.
Pretax profit, meanwhile, dropped by 66% to GBP103 million from GBP300 million a year before amid GBP441 million of exceptional items, largely reflecting store and Russia impairments.
The company did not declare a final payout after paying 7.49p a year earlier, leaving its total dividend for the year at 3.33p versus 10.82p a year ago.
Looking ahead, Kingfisher did not provide any specific guidance for its current financial year, given the uncertainty around Covid-19.
Kingfisher explained that its initial focus in the final quarter of financial 2020 was on improving its operations in France, implementing new trading approaches and recalibrating the balance between the company and local activities.
The company highlighted that in the final quarter, and early in financial 2021, it saw improved like-for-like sales trends. In financial 2020, like-for-like sales fell by 1.5%.
In financial 2021, first quarter like-for-like sales were down 25% even though trading up to March 14 continued the "positive trends" seen in the fourth quarter of the recently ended year. However, second quarter like-for-like sales to date were up 22% amid strong e-commerce growth and the phased reopening of stores.
Nearly all of Kingfisher's 1,368 stores are open, it said.
"We ended FY19-20 in better shape, after a disappointing first nine months, by returning the group to positive like-for-like sales growth in Q4 as well as for the start of FY 20/21," said Chief Executive Thierry Garnier, who joined the business in late September.
"When the various lockdowns began, we rapidly transformed our operations to meet a sharp increase in e-commerce, while adapting our retail space and processes to ensure a safe reopening of stores," continued Garnier.
"We look to the future with confidence and are committed to returning Kingfisher to growth."
Kingfisher shares were trading 5.3% higher in London on Wednesday at 214.27p a share.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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