Kingfisher PLC on Tuesday kept its dividend flat and and announced a new £300 million buyback programme as said it was ‘in its best operational shape for years’.

The London-based owner of B&Q and Screwfix reported a 36% decline in its pretax profit for its financial year ended January 31, to £307 million from £475 million the year before. On an adjusted basis, it fell 7.0% to £528 million from £568 million.

Its shares were down 11% at 248.10 pence on Tuesday morning in London.

Driving the weaker bottom line was a reduction in sales, falling 1.5% to £12.78 billion from £12.90 billion.

Increased administrative costs compounded the effect of the softer sales as they grew 13% to £1.12 billion from £990 million.

The home improvement retailer kept its total dividend unchanged at 12.40 pence.

It also announced a new £300 million share buyback programme, following the completion of its prior £300 million programme on Thursday. It expects to begin the first tranche ‘soon’, with it noting the completion of £900 million in buybacks since September 2021.

Looking ahead, Kingfisher guides adjusted pretax profit of between £480 million and £540 million. It also guides a free cash flow of between £420 million and £480 million. This compares to £511 million realised in financial 2025.

It added that it remains ‘confident about the medium to longer-term outlook for the sector’.

Chief Executive Thierry Garnier said: ‘Looking to the year ahead, the recent government budgets in the UK and France have raised costs for retailers and impacted consumer sentiment in the near term. With this in mind, we remain focused on what is in our control - progressing our strategic objectives at pace to deliver further market share gains, and continuing to manage gross margin, costs and cash effectively.

‘Kingfisher is in its best operational shape for years, and we remain confident about the growth opportunities in our business.’

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