Kingfisher Share Price Plunged 7.1% Lower on Q3 Trading Update

The Kingfisher plc (LON: KGF) share price plunged 7.11% at 8:56 GMT after the company released its financial results for Q3 of its 2024 financial year. The retailer noted that it had generated sales worth £3.2 billion, with total sales down by 2.1% on a reported basis and 2.7% at constant currency.

The company’s like-for-like (LFL) sales declined by 3.9%, which includes a negative impact of 0.4% related to the calendar, but the overall sales volumes displayed an improving trend. The retail and trade consumer trends in the UK remained robust, and there were signs of improvement in Poland, aligning with the Company's expectations.

However, market trends in France were weaker than anticipated. A breakdown of Q3 performance by region shows that the UK & Ireland markets saw B&Q (including TradePoint) and Screwfix achieve market share gains with resilient sales trends.

France: Castorama performed in line with the market, but Brico Dépôt underperformed due to a significant focus on building materials and electrical, plumbing, heating & cooling (EPHC) products. The warmer weather delayed sales in these categories compared to the strong performance in the prior year.

Sales trends in Poland improved since H1, and market share remained significantly higher over two years. The Company expanded its presence in France by opening four additional Screwfix stores in Q3, bringing the total to 13. Additionally, Screwfix launched its online platform in six new European markets. 

Adjusted pre-tax profit (PBT) guidance for the entire year has been revised downward to approximately £560 million due to the continuation of Q3 trends into Q4. These trends include the UK market's ongoing strength and the French market's weakness. 

Thierry Garnier, Kingfisher’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our UK banners performed well in Q3, with B&Q, TradePoint and Screwfix growing sales and market share. In France, our performance was impacted by a weak retail market, as well as a delayed start to insulation, plumbing and heating sales – to which Brico Dépôt is more heavily weighted – due to unusually warm autumn weather and strong prior-year comparatives in these categories. In Poland, we are seeing early signs of recovery in the trading trend against an incrementally more positive consumer and economic backdrop.”

Kingfisher share price. 

Kingfisher plc’s share price plunged 7.11% to trade at 214.10p from Tuesday’s closing price of 230.50p.