DIY and building products retailer Kingfisher (KGF) unveiled record full year earnings as it increased its market share in the UK and France.
The group also said it was ahead of schedule in terms of its strategic aims to accelerate its e-commerce operations and broaden its own-product ranges.
Shareholder returns are set to top £550 million after the firm raised its total dividend by 50% to 12.4p per share.
MAKING GAINS
Sales for B&Q, Castorama and Screwfix operator in the year to the end of January were up almost 10% on a like-for-like basis to a record £13.18 billion driven by strong retail and trade demand.
Compared with the 2019-20 financial year, like-for-like sales were up 18% thanks to an increase in transaction volumes and a higher average basket value.
E-commerce sales were up 5.3% on the previous year but 171% above 2019-20 and now represent 18% of total group sales compared with just 8% two years ago.
As well as resilient demand from DIY customers, the firm said half of its sales last year were to trade customers and the DIFM (do-it-for-me) market.
Strong margins and lower finance costs led to a 33% jump in reported pre-tax profits to just over £1 billion compared with an S&P consensus of £938 million.
ACCELERATING GROWTH
Rather than resting on last year’s success, chief executive Thierry Garnier is ramping up the group’s growth investments in the UK and abroad.
‘We are now over two years into our new strategy and execution is ahead of schedule’, explained Garnier.
‘With the business in a strong position, we are accelerating our investments for growth through the launch of our scalable e-commerce marketplace, the expansion of Screwfix in the UK and France, new store openings in Poland, and our plans to increase our trade customer base.’
The firm said it had seen ‘an encouraging start’ to the current year with like-for-like sales up 16% on two years ago and strong ‘big ticket’ demand both at B&Q and Castorama.
After a good performance ahead of the results, Kingfisher shares drifted off 3.4% to 281p by mid-morning.
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