Kingfisher Plc (LSE:KGF) reported a £73 million goodwill impairment related to its Castorama France business as the home improvement group posted a 6% increase in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit to £560 million. The performance was supported by solid trading in its UK brands, which offset mounting pressure in France, the group’s second-largest market.
France accounts for about 30% of Kingfisher’s total revenue, and the country’s DIY market declined by roughly 3% during the financial year ended Jan. 31. Castorama France delivered a retail profit margin of 2.5%, well below the company’s medium-term goal of 5% to 7%, a level management said would depend on “the pace of the market recovery.”
Statutory pre-tax profit increased 23% to £378 million, while adjusted earnings per share rose 14.9% to 23.8 pence.
The group’s UK businesses were the main drivers of growth. Sales at B&Q rose 4%, while Screwfix recorded a 4.5% increase. Retail profit across the UK and Ireland reached £575 million, though the comparison was aided by £33 million of business rates refunds received in the prior year that were not repeated in the latest period.
Group gross margin improved by 80 basis points to 38.1%. Free cash flow remained broadly stable at £512 million, while net debt to adjusted EBITDA fell to 1.4 times from 1.6 times.
Kingfisher also wrote down the value of its 50% stake in Turkish joint venture Koçtaş to zero, taking a £19 million charge. In addition, the company recorded a £31 million loss on the disposal of its Romanian operations in May 2025, which generated gross proceeds of £53 million.
The total dividend for the year was maintained at 12.40 pence per share, equivalent to cover of 1.9 times—below the company’s target range of 2.25 to 2.75 times.
Kingfisher also unveiled a new £300 million share buyback programme, its fourth since September 2021, bringing cumulative buybacks to £1.2 billion.
Chief executive Thierry Garnier said the group delivered “profit growth of +13% when excluding last year’s business rates one-off and strong free cash flow.”
Looking ahead, the company forecast adjusted pre-tax profit of between £565 million and £625 million for the coming year, alongside expected free cash flow of £450 million to £510 million.
Digital sales continued to expand, with e-commerce accounting for 21% of total group revenue at £2.74 billion. Trade sales reached £3.89 billion, representing around 30% of the company’s overall revenue.
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