Sales of a paint, called light rain, grew 48 per cent at Kingfisher's (KFG) B&Q DIY chain in the year - ironic, perhaps, given that last summer's washout was significantly to blame for the retailer's poor performance. "We're thinking about introducing a heavy snow range this year," joked chief executive Ian Cheshire.
Indeed, adverse weather and weak consumer conditions sent same-store retail sales at B&Q tumbling 5.6 per cent, as underlying retail profits there fell 21 per cent to £187m. Sales of outdoor seasonal products slumped and footfall declined 20 per cent. Moreover, a decent performance at Screwfix couldn't offset B&Q's disappointing figures - so total retail profit in the UK and Ireland fell 14 per cent to £234m. Elsewhere, things weren't much better. French retail profit rose 0.2 per cent, but same-store sales fell 1.6 per cent. In fact, only Russia managed growth - profits there surged 853 per cent, but to just to £16m.
Kingfisher is trying to shrink its bloated B&Q estate. But exiting onerous leases and securing planning permission is proving difficult, with just one deal completed in the year. Prior to these figures, Cantor Fitzgerald was expecting pre-tax profit of £716m for the end of January 2014, giving EPS of 21.6p (22.3p in 2013).
| KINGFISHER (KGF) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 290p | MARKET VALUE: | £6.9bn | |
| TOUCH: | 289-290p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 317p | LOW: 252p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.3% | PE RATIO: | 12 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 259p* | NET CASH: | £38m | |
| Year to 2 Feb | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 10.0 | 90.0 | 0.20 | 5.33 |
| 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 |
| % change | -2 | -13 | -12 | +7 |
Ex-div: 8 May Payment: 17 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £2.6bn, or 108p a share | ||||
