Retail Insight Network

Kingfisher’s adjusted PBT down 25.1% in FY2023/24

The retailer delivered £12.98bn in sales in FY23/24, representing a 1.8% decline on a constant currency basis from the previous year.

British home improvement retailer Kingfisher has reported that its adjusted profit before tax (PBT) decreased by 25.1% to £568m ($717.05m) in fiscal 2023 to 2024 (FY23/24), compared to £758m in FY22/23.

The retailer posted a statutory PBT of £475m, down by 22.3% from £611m in FY22/23.

During the year ending 31 January 2024, Kingfisher delivered £12.98bn in sales, a 0.6% decline on a reported basis and a 1.8% decline on constant currency.

Regionally, sales in the UK and Ireland saw a modest 0.8% in like-for-like (LFL) sales growth, while France and Poland experienced LFL declines of 5.9% and 9.5% respectively.

Gross profit fell by 0.4% to £4.77bn in FY23/24 compared to £4.79bn in FY22/23.

This was accompanied by a more significant 18.9% reported drop in retail profit, which stood at £749m, down from £923m in FY22/23.

Kingfisher's online sales penetration rose to 17.4% in FY23/24, up from 16.3% in the previous fiscal year.

This was driven by the lower operating profit and the impact of £76m in net store impairments.

Its statutory post-tax profit also decreased by 26.7% to £345m, and earnings per share dropped by 23.5% to 18.2p.

The company’s net debt was £2.11bn as of 31 January 2024, down from £2.27bn at the same point in the previous year.

Kingfisher CEO Thierry Garnier said: “Despite all the macroeconomic and consumer challenges in our markets over the past year, we have stayed focused on our customers and our long-term strategy. I am immensely proud of all our teams for their efforts.”

Looking ahead to FY 2024/25, Kingfisher anticipates an adjusted PBT of between £490m and £550m and free cash flow between approximately £350m and £410m.

Thierry Garnier added: “Looking forward, we remain confident in the attractive growth prospects of the home improvement industry and our ability to grow ahead of our markets.

“In the short term, while repairs, maintenance and renovation activity on existing homes continue to support resilient demand, we are cautious on the overall market outlook for 2024 due to the lag between housing demand and home improvement demand.”