B&Q owner Kingfisher said current-year first-quarter sales were down 8.1% as it reported 2021/22 profits up by a third, and said it was “encouraged” by its start to the new year.
The company on Tuesday posted pre-tax profit of £1bn on sales of £13.1bn, up 6.8% and said it was “comfortable” with the current consensus of sell-side analyst expectations for 2022/23 adjusted profit before tax of £769m. Current like-for-like sales took in the period to March 22 and were up 16% on a two-year basis.
On an adjusted basis, Kingfisher which also owns Screwfix along with Castorama and Brico Depot in France, made adjusted pre-tax profit £949m in the 12 months to January 31, up from £786m. The total dividend was lifted by 50% to 12.4p a share.
Kingfisher sales have boomed during the Covid pandemic as people stuck at home during lockdown’s took on home improvement projects. Adjusted profits were largely driven by higher retail sales.
The company said it was “mindful” of the heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty that has emerged since the start of the year.
