Kingfisher Faces Higher Bar Into Tuesday’s Interim Results

Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, reports half-year results before the market opens on Tuesday 22 September. The DIY retailer’s shares have run up sharply into the print, meaning Tuesday’s numbers need to clear a higher bar than they would have a fortnight ago.

Kingfisher shares closed at 301.80p on Friday, down 2.46% on the day, but still well above the 52-week low of 238.90p and below the high of 361.53p for the period.

Markets will be watching whether the trend from Kingfisher’s Q1 update in May persists: total group sales fell 0.9% to £3.3bn, with UK&I chain B&Q down 4.1% on a late start to spring, while Screwfix rose 4.1% and e-commerce and trade sales both grew by double digits. Chief executive Thierry Garnier said at the time:

“E-commerce and trade sales both delivered double-digit growth, underlining the momentum in our key growth drivers.”

Thierry Garnier, Kingfisher CEO

Kingfisher reiterated full-year adjusted profit guidance of £565m-£625m at that update, and Tuesday’s release will show whether that range still holds.

According to Yahoo Finance, analysts expect current-year earnings per share averaging $0.26 across 18 estimates, up from $0.23 a year earlier, with revenue seen averaging around $13.11bn across 16 estimates; those figures are quoted in dollars under Yahoo’s own convention. In the prior-year comparable half, Kingfisher beat consensus EPS by 13%.

Shares have also been supported by a reported Deutsche Bank upgrade ahead of the results, and the print lands against the backdrop of Garnier’s planned departure to lead Ahold Delhaize, an added question over strategic continuity that investors will want addressed on the call.

With the shares already up sharply into Tuesday, a simple reiteration of existing guidance may not be enough to extend the rally, leaving Kingfisher’s update as a binary test of whether Screwfix and online growth are offsetting continued softness at B&Q.