Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF) may need to tweak its full-year guidance when it posts half-year results on Tuesday.
The UK and France-focused home improvement company revealed a 5.4% decline in like-for-like sales in a first-quarter update in May, which it said was in-line with expectations and up 16.4% on a three-year basis.
It reported seeing “good momentum into the second quarter”.
Kingfisher, which owns B&Q, Screwfix, Castorama and Bricot Depot, reiterated full-year guidance for adjusted pre-tax profit to fall 19% to roughly £770mln.
Analysts are expecting this to be even lower at £755mln.
For the first half of the year, the spreadsheet jockeys are looking for a 3.9% drop in like-for-like sales growth, so that implies an improvement in Q2 over Q1.
Last year, Kingfisher declared a first-half payment of 3.8p a share, on its way to a full-year distribution of 12.4p, with the current consensus forecast remaining broadly unchanged.
“Worries over the cost-of-living crisis and its impact on consumer spending are key issues here, especially as rival Wickes flagged back in July that it had seen a softening in the DIY market in the wake of the boom in home improvement that took place during lockdowns and the pandemic,” Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director, commented.