Kingfisher H1 2026/27 results preview: can B&Q spring back to life?

Kingfisher H1 2026/27 results preview: can B&Q spring back to life?

Kingfisher is due to report its half-year results on Tuesday 22 September, with investors looking for signs that a weak start to the year was largely down to the late arrival of spring rather than a broader deterioration in demand for home improvement products. The update will also provide a first detailed look at trading under a year in which chief executive Thierry Garnier has announced plans to leave the business.

The owner of B&Q, Screwfix, Castorama and Brico Dépôt entered the financial year forecasting adjusted pre-tax profit of approximately £565m to £625m, compared with £560m in 2025/26. It also expects free cash flow of around £450m to £510m and is continuing with a £300m share buyback.

The question for the half-year results is whether the group remains on track for that guidance after a subdued first quarter.

Those looking to invest in Kingfisher can do so through IG Invest or our share dealing service, while traders can access the share price via spread betting or CFD trading.

A weak spring puts the focus on recovery

Kingfisher's first-quarter underlying like-for-like sales fell 0.7%, while total sales including marketplace gross merchandise value increased 0.8%. The company blamed the weakness largely on a late start to spring, which reduced footfall and demand for seasonal products.

The performance was particularly mixed across its banners. B&Q like-for-like sales fell 4.1%, with seasonal sales hit by the weather and big-ticket demand affected by a weak bathroom market. Screwfix, by contrast, delivered 4.1% like-for-like growth, helped by strong core sales, higher transactions and continued momentum from its app-based rewards programme and convenient fulfilment options.

France was also soft, with like-for-like sales down 2.1%, while Poland declined 0.2%. Iberia was a notable bright spot, with like-for-like sales rising 6.6%.

That leaves the second quarter particularly important. If warmer weather has released some of the demand postponed by the slow start to spring, B&Q's performance should improve. If not, investors may question how much of the group's expected earnings growth can be delivered through the remainder of the year.

B&Q versus Screwfix

The contrasting performances of B&Q and Screwfix underline one of the central features of the Kingfisher story: exposure to different types of consumer and spending.

B&Q is more exposed to seasonal demand and larger home-improvement projects. In the first quarter, its core sales fell 3.1%, big-ticket sales dropped 2.1% and seasonal sales fell 7.5%. Kingfisher said bathroom demand remained weak, although new kitchen ranges provided some offset.

Screwfix is benefiting from a stronger trade proposition and a more convenience-led business model. Its first-quarter like-for-like sales increased 4.1%, while the company said it was gaining significant market share, driven by volume and transactions.

Investors will therefore be watching to see whether B&Q can narrow the gap with Screwfix. A stronger B&Q would provide evidence that the first-quarter weakness was at least partly weather-related, while continued Screwfix growth would reinforce the importance of trade customers to Kingfisher's strategy.

Trade and online remain the growth engines

Away from the headline sales numbers, Kingfisher has been making progress in two strategic areas: trade and e-commerce.

Trade sales excluding Screwfix increased 17% in the first quarter, taking trade penetration across the group to 31%. E-commerce sales excluding Screwfix rose 14%, while marketplace gross merchandise value jumped 39% to £163m.

Those numbers matter because they represent areas where Kingfisher is trying to generate structural growth rather than simply relying on a recovery in consumer spending.

The group has also been expanding its TradePoint proposition, opening its first standalone TradePoint store during the quarter. In France, Brico Dépôt's trade sales increased 28%, while Poland's trade sales rose 13%. Iberia delivered even stronger trade growth of 44%.

The half-year results should therefore give investors more detail on whether these initiatives are translating into higher sales, greater customer frequency and, importantly, sustainable margins.

Can margins protect profit guidance?

Kingfisher's sales performance will be only part of the story. The group has emphasised disciplined gross-margin and cost management as it seeks to deliver adjusted pre-tax profit of £565m–£625m.

The guidance assumes net finance costs of around £105m, an adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 26% and capital expenditure of about £400m.

With consumer demand uneven across its markets, maintaining margins could prove as important as generating sales growth. Promotional intensity, product mix and the balance between seasonal, core and big-ticket products will therefore be worth watching closely.

Kingfisher's previous financial year showed how much earnings can improve even when sales growth is relatively modest. Adjusted pre-tax profit increased 6% to £560m in 2025/26, while group sales rose 1.3% to £12.9bn. UK and Ireland like-for-like sales rose 3.3%, offsetting declines in France and Poland.

For those wanting to understand more about how to assess shares like Kingfisher, where the earnings outlook depends heavily on margin dynamics as well as headline sales, our resources on investing for beginners cover the key concepts in accessible detail.

CEO departure adds another talking point

The results also come against the backdrop of Garnier's planned departure.

In May, Kingfisher announced that Garnier had resigned after nearly seven years as CEO to take up a senior leadership role outside the group's markets. He has a 12-month notice period and remains in post while the company searches for his successor.

Ahold Delhaize subsequently announced Garnier as its nominee for CEO, with the expectation that he will succeed Frans Muller around its April 2027 AGM.

For Kingfisher shareholders, the key issue is likely to be continuity. Garnier has overseen the development of the group's trade proposition, marketplace and digital strategy, and the company has stressed that a succession plan is already in place. The half-year results should provide another opportunity for management to demonstrate that the strategy remains firmly on track despite the impending leadership change.

What to watch on 22 September

The headline number will be whether Kingfisher changes its £565m–£625m adjusted pre-tax profit guidance. But the underlying detail could be more important.

Investors will be looking for evidence of a recovery at B&Q, particularly in seasonal and big-ticket categories, while continued growth at Screwfix would help offset weakness elsewhere. Trading in France will also remain important given the persistent weakness at Castorama and Brico Dépôt.

The performance of trade and e-commerce should provide a read on the group's longer-term growth strategy, while gross margin and cash generation will indicate how effectively Kingfisher is converting sales into earnings and cash.

The shares – down around 3% year-to-date – trade back towards the upper boundary of their April-to-July sideways trading band and have risen and closed above the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) and 4 September high at 307.4p, increasing the odds for another up leg towards the August peak around 330p to be formed.

Kingfisher daily candlestick chart

Only failure at the current September low at 287.3p may lead to major support between the March-to-July lows at 272.9p-to-266.4p being revisited.

With Kingfisher's full-year guidance still intact after the first-quarter update, the half-year results are less about whether the company can produce headline sales growth and more about whether the underlying trends are improving sufficiently to support the second half.

A recovery in B&Q, continued momentum at Screwfix and further progress in trade and digital would provide evidence that the first-quarter softness was largely temporary. Conversely, continued weakness in big-ticket spending and European markets would put greater pressure on margins and the group's ability to deliver the upper end of its profit range.

The 22 September results should therefore give investors a clearer indication of whether Kingfisher is simply navigating a difficult patch in the home-improvement market or whether a more prolonged recovery in consumer spending is needed to unlock the next stage of earnings growth.

Kingfisher analyst ratings

According to LSEG Data & Analytics analysts rate Kingfisher as a ‘hold’ with 2 ‘strong buy’, 3 ‘buy’, 11 ‘hold’ and 3 ‘sell’ recommendations with a mean long-term price target at 314.67p, around 2% higher than the current share price (as of 18 September 2026).

TipRanks has a ‘buy’ rating despite a ‘5 Neutral’ Smart Score.

How to invest in Kingfisher shares

1. Do your research on Kingfisher, the half-year results on 22 September and the key metrics to watch
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