B&Q owner Kingfisher plc’s third-quarter results published yesterday were weaker-than-anticipated, Deutsche Bank analysts said in a research note.
Given Kingfisher’s 12% share price bombing on the day, that may be understating it.
Deutsche analysts highlighted that group like-for-like (LFL) sales declined by 1.1%, far below the market consensus of a 0.2% decline, driven by a slowdown in sales across key markets.
“The sales weakness has been seen across the market and these figures still reflect a market share gain despite pre-Budget nerves in the UK and weak consumer confidence in France,” they said.
The FTSE 100 home improvement retailer also tightened its full-year profit guidance and said the Budget will add approximately £31 million to next year’s expenses.
Despite the underwhelming results, Deutsche Bank maintained its ‘buy’ rating on Kingfisher, with a target price of 350p.
Shares were swapping for 253p on Tuesday afternoon.