There was a great deal of news in home-improvement group Kingfisher's (KGF) full-year results, which had more to do with the current financial year than the one just passed. The big announcement was that the retailer is to start returning capital to shareholders, with £200m earmarked for this year, following a better than expected net-cash balance of £238m at the year-end.
The company will also enter two new countries, opening Brico Dépôt stores in Portugal and Screwfix outlets in Germany at a cost of £10m. An agreement has been reached to dispose of Kingfisher's entire stake in Hornbach for £195m and, finally, it's searching for a strategic partner for B&Q in China.
Turning to the financials, group like-for-like sales rose 0.7 per cent at constant currencies, while the adjusted pre-tax profit grew 4 per cent to £744m. Continued weakness in the French DIY market knocked both sales and profit there, while in the UK and Ireland flat trading at B&Q offset a strong showing from Screwfix, leaving underlying sales 1 per cent higher at £4.36bn. Further afield, decent profit growth was driven by Poland, Russia and China and the acquisition of 15 stores in Romania.
Broker Cantor Fitzgerald has has cut its adjusted pre-tax profit forecast for the year by 1 per cent to £805m, giving EPS of 25p.
| KINGFISHER (KGF) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 437p | MARKET VALUE: | £10bn | |
| TOUCH: | 436-437p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 437p | LOW: 280p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.3% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 265p* | NET CASH: | £238m | |
| Year to 1 Feb | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 10.5 | 566 | 16.5 | 5.50 |
| 2011 | 10.5 | 671 | 21.0 | 7.07 |
| 2012 | 10.8 | 797 | 27.5 | 8.84 |
| 2013 | 10.6 | 691 | 24.1 | 9.46 |
| 2014 | 11.1 | 759 | 30.0 | 9.9 |
| % change | +5 | +10 | +24 | +5 |
Ex-div: 14 May Payment: 16 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £2.64bn, or 111p a share | ||||
