B&Q and Brico Depot owner Kingfisher has lifted the bottom end of its annual profit outlook, saying that while demand for 'big-ticket' home improvements like kitchens and bathrooms remained weak, seasonal sales trends have improved since early July.
High interest rates and macro-economic uncertainty have pressured consumer demand for big home improvement projects on both sides of the Atlantic. Last month US giants Home Depot and Lowe's both warned on the outlook.
FTSE-100-listed European retailer Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix in Ireland and Britain and Castorama in France, reported flat first half profit today, but said there were "positive early signs" of a housing market recovery, notably in the UK.
It said it was strongly positioned for growth in 2025 and beyond and that it now expected an adjusted pretax profit for 2024/25 of £510m to £550m, having previously forecast £490m to £550m.
It made £568m in 2023/24.
Kingfisher said profit on the same measure fell 0.5% to £334m in its first half to July 31, with like-for-like sales down 2.4%. It said it gained market share in Britain and Poland.
"Trading overall in the first half was in line with our expectations," said CEO Thierry Garnier.
"This was underpinned by customers continuing to repair, maintain and renovate their existing homes, driving resilient volume trends in our core product categories."
Kingfisher shares were up by 7% in early trading.
The group said like-for-like sales were down 0.3% in the third quarter so far.
Shares in Kingfisher are up by about fifth over the past year, but are still about a quarter lower than their Covid-19 pandemic lockdown peak of 2021.
