Finance
Home improvement retailer Kingfisher raises profit outlook on strong UK demand
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Kingfisher raises its profit outlook due to strong UK demand, boosting shares by 17.5%. The retailer sees growth in sales and market share despite economic uncertainties.
By James Davey
LONDON (Reuters) -European home improvement retailer Kingfisher raised its full-year profit outlook on Tuesday after reporting a better-than-expected 10.2% rise for the first half, driven by a strong performance in the UK, sending its shares sharply higher.
Shares in the FTSE-100 listed group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix in the UK and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, were up 17.5% after it said it was now targeting the "upper end" of guidance for full-year adjusted pretax profit of 480-540 million pounds ($650-730 million), versus the 528 million made in 2024/25.
The stock was also boosted by Kingfisher upgrading its guidance for free cash flow and a move to accelerate its share buyback programme, with the current 300 million pound programme slated to complete by March 2026.
The group, which trades from about 1,900 stores in seven countries, made an adjusted pretax profit of 368 million pounds in the six months to July 31, on sales up 1% to 6.81 billion pounds, with market share gains in the UK, France and Spain.
Like-for-like sales were up 3.9% in the UK and Ireland, driven by demand for paints, tools and hardware, "continued momentum" in big-ticket areas such as kitchens and bathrooms, and strong sales of garden furniture and barbecues, helped by good weather.
"We have seen a resilient consumer in the UK," Chief Executive Thierry Garnier told reporters.
But he said he was mindful of still relatively high inflation, uncertainty ahead of the government's budget on November 26 amid speculation of further tax rises, and signs of softness in the labour market.
In France, like-for-like sales fell 2.1%, reflecting a more subdued consumer backdrop.
Analysts at RBC Europe said Kingfisher had delivered first-half profit beats in all divisions.
"We see potential for DIY trends to be fairly resilient, helped by consumers looking to save money and to improve their homes," they said. ($1 = 0.7402 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah Young)
Kingfisher raised its full-year profit outlook after reporting a better-than-expected 10.2% rise for the first half.
Sales growth in the UK was driven by demand for paints, tools, hardware, and strong sales in big-ticket areas like kitchens and bathrooms.
Shares in Kingfisher rose by 17.5% following the announcement of the upgraded profit outlook and guidance for free cash flow.
In France, like-for-like sales fell by 2.1%, reflecting a more subdued consumer backdrop compared to the UK.
Analysts at RBC Europe noted that Kingfisher delivered first-half profit beats across all divisions, indicating strong overall performance.
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