European home improvement retailer Kingfisher warned on Monday that current-year profit would fall short of analysts’ expectations after it reported a 25% drop for 2023-24.
“In the short term, while repairs, maintenance and renovation activities on existing homes continue to support resilient demand, we are cautious on the overall market outlook for 2024 due to the lag between housing demand and home improvement demand,” CEO Thierry Garnier said.
Shares of the FTSE 100-listed group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, have fallen 11% over the past year.
Kingfisher forecast an adjusted pretax profit for 2024-25 of £490m to £550m (€571m-€641m), below analysts’ average forecast of £560m (€652m).
It said like-for-like sales in the first quarter so far were down 2.3% year-on-year, with an improved sales trend in the UK and Ireland, France and Poland compared to the previous quarter, and an improved volume trend in all three product categories – core, ‘big-ticket’ and seasonal.
Total sales fell 1.8%, with like-for-like sales down 3.1%.
While sales in the UK and Ireland were positive and the division increased market share, sales in France and Poland were impacted by a more challenging consumer backdrop.
The group said it planned to simplify its business in France, including restructuring and modernizing the Castorama store network.
Reuters