Kingfisher (KGF) will not pay a final dividend to shareholders for its 2019/20 financial year given the disruption the home improvements retailer faces in relation to coronavirus. Kingfisher has also delayed the release of its full-year results, due tomorrow, in accordance with a UK-wide request from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to temporarily postpone results during the crisis.
On 17 March, Kingfisher drew down its two revolving credit facilities totalling £775m, and now has total net debt of £2.53bn, which includes £2.56bn of lease liabilities. As of 20 March, it had cash and cash equivalents of around £1.1bn. Kingfisher has closed its 221 stores in France and all 28 outlets in Spain, although its UK stores remain open.
The retailer experienced a strong start to the year before coronavirus took hold in its markets, recording 2.3 per cent February sales growth and 6.6 per cent growth in the second week of March. Its French closures brought overall sales down 22.8 per cent during the third week of March, although UK turnover jumped 37.7 per cent during this period.
