Kingfisher shares sink on downgrade

(Video Transcript)

European consumer starting to crack

Kingfisher shares are really moving as we speak. Let's just show you a bit of action here because the bar for the daily chart is quite spectacular. Look at that there, down 6.4%. The European home improvement retailer has downgraded its annual profit forecast by 7%. This is after weakness in Poland and also France, which offset a pick-up in the UK and Ireland.

What's also interesting is that it's showing and adding to the signs that we had in previous weeks that the consumer is starting to crack, at least in Europe. That cost-of-living crisis, prolonged it must be said after two years, is finally starting to show. However, Kingfisher did say that UK consumers remain quote healthy. Kingfisher owns B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Bricodepo in France.

Wickes is worth watching

I want to check on Wickes for you as well, because this is another one within the same space. If any of you've ever been to Wickes, their main strength is anything to do with wood and carpentry. It must be said that their stores do need a new lick of paint and reorganisation.

Wickes is another interesting one because we had some numbers out of Wickes earlier today that were particularly interesting given what's been happening in the do-it-yourself (DIY) space. It's still giving a first-half dividend, pre-tax profit coming in at £21.1 million and its revenues are £827.7 million. So, given these circumstances, those figures are not too bad actually, but Wix's shares down 1.3%.