B&Q UK & Ireland Sales Exceed £4bn

Kingfisher has published full-year results for the year ended 31st January 2022, advising of a record year for profits and revenue. 

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Kingfisher UK & Ireland sales increased by 13.4% (LFL +11.8%) to £6,505m, with 2-year LFL sales up 23.8%, reflecting strong demand throughout the year from both retail and trade customers. Our banners significantly improved their competitive position in the UK home improvement market, and engagement with new and existing customers was strong, with both store and website NPS significantly improving YoY. Gross margin % decreased by 60 basis points, largely reflecting changes in category and channel mix, and one-off spend on securing availability. This was partially offset by our effective management of inflation.

Retail profit increased by 16.7% to £794m, with a strong performance from both B&Q and Screwfix. Operating costs increased by 9.6% largely due to higher costs associated with strong trading (including headcount increases and higher staff incentives), 79 net new store openings, operating cost inflation, digital investments, and the reversal of some COVID-related temporary cost reduction measures implemented in FY 20/21 (e.g., advertising and marketing). The increase in operating costs was partially offset by cost reductions achieved as part of our strategic cost reduction programme. Retail profit margin % improved 30 basis points to 12.2%.

B&Q total sales increased by 12.8% to £4,178m (LFL +12.3%), with 2-year LFL sales up 26.9% driven by double-digit growth across all categories. ‘Big-ticket’ items saw continued strong momentum, with showroom (kitchens and bathrooms) in the top-performing categories. Our current showroom order book is very strong, up 93% versus the equivalent point in the prior year, and up 98% on a 2-year basis. LFL sales of weather-related categories increased by 18% (increase of 43% on a 2-year LFL basis), while sales of non-weather-related categories, including showroom, increased by 10% (increase of 22% on a 2-year LFL basis).

B&Q’s e-commerce sales continued to grow strongly in FY 21/22, increasing by 13% YoY and 146% on a 2-year basis, and representing 11% of total sales (FY 20/21: 10%; FY 19/20: 5%).

B&Q’s trade-focused banner, TradePoint, continues to perform ahead of expectations. The business continues to be a significant part of B&Q at 20% of its sales (FY 20/21: 19%). LFL sales for TradePoint outperformed the rest of B&Q, growing by 20% in FY 21/22, with 2-year LFL sales up 33%. TradePoint’s higher weighting towards building materials and overall strong availability helped drive outperformance. Engagement with trade customers continues to be high, with the introduction of trade-only deals and campaigns in H2 21/22. Going forward, the loyalty scheme will be integrated into our digital platforms, giving customers the ability to better monitor current spend levels, and additional spend requirements to trigger higher discount bands (up to 10%).

B&Q opened 11 new stores in FY 21/22, including five compact stores and six further store-in-store concessions within ASDA supermarkets.

Source : Kingfisher

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