Were Kingfisher’s results what you expected?
FREDDIE GEORGE | SEYMOUR PIERCE
Despite downgrades in recent weeks, the interim results to the end of July are disappointing and at the bottom end of market expectations. Some of the problems are one-off, but one worries that some are also structural. We are downgrading our recommendation from ‘hold’ to ‘sell’.
RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN
Set against a backdrop of record wet weather and European austerity, Kingfisher has fared as well as could have been expected. The numbers were light of market expectations, and the environment is unlikely to improve in the short to medium term.
PHILIP DORGAN | PANMURE GORDON
The interims, while disappointing, bear the brunt of a large number of mostly one-off factors, such as the weather and currency, while austerity measures and a slowing French economy should arguably reverse over time. We believe that the long-term investment case hasn’t altered.