'Solid start to the year' from Kingfisher

Kingfisher has reported on Q1 trading, covering the three months ended 30th April 2016.

Sales reached £2.7 billion, +3.6% LFL*, and trading has been described as 'in line with expectations'. 

- Solid Q1 performance with LFL sales up +3.6% driven by the UK & Poland
- £78m (23m shares) returned to date via share buyback of the previously announced c. £600m capital return ⁽³⁾

ONE Kingfisher ⁽⁴⁾ progress on FY 2016/17 operational milestones:

Unified & Unique Offer:

• Set up of new Offer and Supply Chain Organisation well underway with new unified global functions and roles starting from early June

Digital:

• Unified IT platform now in all B&Q stores (ahead of plan) with back office and supply chain underway

Operational efficiency:

• Closure of c.15% surplus space at B&Q remains on track
  • 10 further B&Q stores closed (40 to date of the 65 planned)
  • Of the 65 stores: 41 lease exits secured; outsourced remaining lease exits to a third party via a lease liability transaction

⁽⁴⁾  5 year transformation to deliver £500m sustainable annual profit uplift by the end of Year 5 over and above ‘business as usual’.

Véronique Laury, Kingfisher Chief Executive Officer, said:

“We have made a solid start to the year, trading in line with expectations.

“In addition, I am pleased with the early progress we are making on our operational milestones for this year, the first year of our ambitious five year plan. We continue to feel confident in our ability to deliver our plan, based on putting customer needs first, supported by the expertise and enthusiasm of our colleagues.”

See the full results publication here.

Source : Kingfisher PLC Press Release
www.kingfisher.com