ANALYST VIEWS: IS KINGFISHER SET FOR GROWTH IN A TOUGH MARKET?
MATTHEW MCEACHRAN | SINGER CAPITAL MARKETS
Kingfisher has delivered a strong update, capitalising on the favourable weather across Europe. We do not anticipate any major changes to forecasts at this early stage. We have moved our target price up to reflect the ongoing strategic initiatives and international growth ambitions.
RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN
The improvement in the net cash position provides a healthy glow, whilst the group’s geographical diversity continues to underpin performance. On the downside, there were inevitably cautious comments from the management on the outlook. The consensus remains that the shares are a “strong buy”.
NICK BUBB | ARDEN
The first-quarter from Kingfisher was expected to be strong, and retail profit growth of 19 per cent to £174m is certainly good. But it is below our £180m forecast and is not as good as the bulls had hoped, and is not good enough to deliver full-year profit upgrades at this stage.