Kingfisher will pay a total dividend of 8.25p
Kingfisher (LON:KGF), owner of B&Q and Screwfix, confirmed strong rises in sales and profit last year following a surge in DIY projects throughout lockdown.
The company’s sales increased by 7.2% to £12.3bn for the year ending 31 January while post-tax profit came in at £592m, up from £8m the year before.
Adjusted profit after tax rose by 51% to £604m.
Kingfisher confirmed its total dividend at 8.25p, well up on its payout from the year before of 3.33p per share.
The owner of B&Q and Screwfix confirmed that its online sales rose by 158% which now represents 18% of the group’s total sales, while click and collect purchases soared by 226%.
Thierry Garnier, chief executive at Kingfisher, outlined the company’s strategy for the year gone as well as its immediate outlook.
“The dedication and commitment of our 80,000 colleagues has enabled us to make substantial strategic, operational and financial progress this year. Kingfisher is coming out of the COVID crisis as a stronger business, with an improved competitive position in all key markets, strong new customer growth and a step change in digital adoption. I would like to express my personal thanks to all our teams for their incredible efforts in the most testing of circumstances,” said Garnier.
“We rolled out our ‘Powered by Kingfisher’ strategy without delay and even accelerated in many areas. Our distinct retail banners are now empowered and much more agile, which enabled them to react quickly in what was a volatile situation last year, supported by the scale, strength and expertise of the Kingfisher Group.”
“We continued to ‘focus and fix’ key aspects of the business. We have now finalised the fundamental reorganisation of our commercial operating model, and introduced new trading approaches tailored to local markets. In France, our performance and competitive position have significantly improved as we’ve addressed operational issues and strengthened our teams and ranges. There is still work to do, but our progress and the overall engagement of our teams are clear to see.”
The FTSE 100 retailer said the new fiscal year began well, with sales in the first quarter up 24%. It said it expects a low double-digit sales growth for H2 but warned over tough sales comparatives on a like-for-like basis for the period.
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