European home improvement retailer Kingfisher has today downgraded its full-year profit outlook for the second time in three months, blaming a weaker-than-expected retail market in France.
The FTSE 100 group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix in Ireland and Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said its UK and Ireland business was showing resilience and winning market share.
However, it said its performance in France was impacted by a weak retail market, as well as an unusually warm autumn which delayed the start of insulation, plumbing and heating sales, to which Brico Depot is more heavily weighted.
Kingfisher said group like-for-like sales fell 3.9% in the three months to October 31, its fiscal third quarter, and were down 3.4% in the first three weeks of its fourth quarter.
Third quarter like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland division rose 1.1%, but in France they fell 8.6%.
Sales in Poland fell 9% on the same basis, an improvement in the trend since the first half.
Kingfisher said it now expected an adjusted pretax profit of around £560m for the 12 months to the end of January 2024, down from the £590m it was forecasting in September and the £758m made in 2022/23.
The group also cut its forecast for full year free cash flow to £470m from a previous guidance of over £500m.
Looking to 2024, CEO Thierry Garnier said: "We expect to see some product cost price inflation, albeit at a significantly lower level."
Shares in Kingfisher are down 6.3% over the last year.
Separately today, debt-laden supermarket retailer Casino warned of likely losses for its core French business in 2023, due to a slower-than-expected turnaround at its hypermarkets business and the impact of investment costs.
