B&Q owner bucks retail gloom with profit jump
The owner of B&Q has started the second half of the year “with a bang”, analysts said, as Kingfisher reported only a small hit from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sales were down by 1.3 per cent in the first six months of the year, Kingfisher said, but pre-tax profit grew by 62 per cent to £398 million.
Most of its revenue hit came in the first quarter of the year, and the business has recovered well since then, even reaching double-digit growth in the third quarter of the year.
“Trading into the second half has started with a bang, with Kingfisher noting that the‘ growth across all banners and categories’ has led to third quarter to date group like-for-like up 16.6 per cent,” said James Grzinic, an analyst at Jefferies.
He added: “Kingfisher’s firsthalf results present an upbeat picture in the face of a Covid impacted world, with strong second quarter sales gain and government support more than outweighing first-quarter closures and Covid costs.”