Kingfisher, the parent company behind national retailer B&Q, has seen a slight rise in profit despite a drop in sales, saying that demand for big-ticket items, like kitchens and bathrooms, is currently “weak”.
As reported in its half-year sales figures, so-called big ticket sales had declined at B&Q by almost 12%. Across its entire product offering, the retailer saw a marginal 1% decrease in its half-yearly sales. It generated sales of £2,075M, a slight drop compared to last year’s figure of £2,101M.
Fortunately, B&Q said it had seen positive sales growth in core categories and “resilient” seasonal sales, which it said helped to offset the poorer result for big-ticket items.
However, in more positive news, B&Q’s trade sales saw a positive increase in the first six months of the year, with TradePoint sales said to be up by around 7%. B&Q called trade sales of big-ticket items “resilient”, particularly across its kitchen, bathroom and storage categories. The retailer also said it had seen a 22% year-on-year increase in the number of TradePoint customers.
Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, reported an increase of roughly 6% in its company-wide retail profits across the period. It earned £325M in the first half of 2024, a significant increase over last year’s figure of £306M.
It also added that the profit increase was partially offset by slightly higher operating costs. These increases were mostly attributed to higher staff costs, and the opening of more than 50 new stores across the two brands.
Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, said that the half-year results were, “in line with our expectations”.
He continued: “This was underpinned by customers continuing to repair, maintain and renovate their existing homes, driving resilient volume trends in our core product categories. As expected, demand for ‘big-ticket’ categories has remained weak, in line with the broader market, while seasonal category sales trends have improved since early July.
Outlining the company’s financial plans for the remainder of the year, Garnier said that Kingfisher had, “tightened profit guidance and upgraded our free cash flow guidance for the year”.
He concluded: “We remain focused on continuing to manage our costs and cash effectively, and driving further market share gains by delivering on our key strategic priorities. With positive early signs of a housing market recovery, notably in the UK, Kingfisher is strongly positioned for growth in 2025 and beyond.”
Currently, B&Q has 309 retail stores in the UK and Ireland. Earlier this year, Heritage Bathrooms – a Bristan-owned brand – announced it was launching a ‘capsule collection’ of products at B&Q, for the first time. In 2023, research from Salience Search found that B&Q had seen the biggest growth in brand visibility compared with its business rivals.
