B&Q and Screwfix owner expects profit to retreat  further from pandemic level    

Expectations of lower profit in the current financial year reflected pressures on consumer demand, higher energy and staff costs, and the hit to profit of accelerated expansion in France, company said

Kingfisher now has a total of 872 Screwfix stores in the UK and Ireland after opening 82 outlets, and plans a further 60 new stores in this financial year.

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix chains, forecast a further fall in profit this year after it plunged 20% last year from a pandemic-driven record high in the previous year.

Thierry Garnier, chief executive of the group, which also owns Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said expectations of lower profit in the current financial year reflected pressures on consumer demand, higher energy and staff costs, and the hit to profit of accelerated expansion in France.

It said it now has a total of 872 Screwfix stores in the UK and Ireland after opening 82 outlets, and plans a further 60 new stores in this financial year, and has launched Screwfix in France. It has also opened B&Q store franchises in the Middle East for the first time. 

Kingfisher made an adjusted pretax profit of £758m (€860m) in 12 months to the end of January, at the top end of the company's guidance, but down from the £949m made in the previous year. 

Sales fell on a constant currency basis to £13.1bn, with like-for-like sales down by over 2%. Kingfisher consolidates its sales and profits into its UK and Ireland division and does not break out its Irish financial figures. 

The shares, which fell 2% in the session, have risen since the start of the year, but trade below the levels reached in summer 2021 during the pandemic restrictions when its stores remained open.   

In 2022, rises in interest rates, inflation and energy bills put a squeeze on consumer spending both in the UK and Europe.

DIY sales continue to be supported by the trend for more working from home and customer investment in energy saving products.

"We remain confident in both the growth of our industry, and in our strategic priorities supporting growth ahead of our markets," Mr Garnier said. 

• Reuters and Irish Examiner