Third Quarter Like-for-like Sales Growth of 6.4%
Kingfisher PLC
8 December 1999
Trading statement for 13 week period ending 30 October 1999
KINGFISHER REPORTS THIRD QUARTER LIKE-FOR-LIKE SALES GROWTH OF 6.4%
Kingfisher plc, the European DIY, electricals and general merchandise
retailer, today reports that each of its sectors experienced sales growth
against the comparable period last year.
Total sales grew by over 50 percent from £1.72 billion to £2.59 billion,
boosted by the initial contributions from new businesses including Castorama
and Screwfix in DIY, BUT in electricals and VCI in general merchandise.
Existing businesses showed continued organic growth with particularly strong
performances in the European DIY and Electricals sectors.
Kingfisher's like-for-like sales growth for the quarter was 6.4 per cent. On a
pro-forma basis, adjusting for the businesses added to the group, the
like-for-
like growth would have been 5.2 per cent.
DIY
In DIY, where Kingfisher is the clear European market leader, sales of £1.16
billion represented an increase of nearly one and a half times and were a
result of the merger last December of Castorama and B&Q, the acquisition of
Screwfix and continuing organic growth.
B&Q again performed strongly with total sales up by more than 25 per cent
including like-for-like growth of over 8 per cent in the period. Overall sales
benefited from the opening of 5 new Warehouse stores during the period, taking
the total number to 44, and the first contribution from Screwfix, the direct
mail/e-commerce business specialising in servicing the trade and core
professional customer base.
Castorama, excluding B&Q, grew sales on a proforma basis by over 8 per cent in
local currency terms with like-for-like growth of 2.3 per cent. Particularly
strong growth was achieved by Brico Depot and the Polish and Italian
operations. Further encouraging progress has been achieved in the integration
of B&Q and Castorama, with Castorama now on the same financial reporting
schedule as the rest of Kingfisher.
Electricals
Total sales in the European electricals sector, where Kingfisher is a leading
player, rose by over 23 per cent to £766 million. This performance reflects
both the consolidation of BUT as a fully-owned subsidiary throughout the
period and continuing growth from existing businesses.
Darty, the French market leader, grew total sales by nearly 7 per cent in
local currency terms with like-for-like sales of more than 4 percent. Sales of
multi-media products and mobile phones continued to be particularly strong.
BUT, the fourth largest French electricals retailer as well as the second
largest furniture retailer, also enjoyed strong sales growth.
In the UK, Comet, the market number two, increased sales by over 17 per cent
including like-for-like sales growth of over 9 per cent. This strong overall
performance was lifted by the contributions of two of the new concept
destination stores opened at Paisley and Reading. A third has recently opened
in Greenwich. On 1 October, the business launched its new consistently low
pricing strategy which resulted in sharp sales gains.
The other European electricals operations in Germany, Belgium and Holland also
produced reasonable sales gains. Since the period end Kingfisher has assumed
market leadership in Belgian electricals, following its acquisition of Hugo
Van Praag. The LibertySurf Internet Service Provider, in which Kingfisher is
in partnership with the Arnault Group, continues to make good progress.
General Merchandise
Overall growth in general merchandise sales was nearly 7 per cent producing a
total of £668 million. This included contributions from VCI, the entertainment
publishing business, and Big W, the new out of town general merchandise format
currently trading from two stores, both of which have got off to a promising
start.
Woolworths increased total sales by nearly 4 per cent and like-for-like by
over 1 per cent. Growth was driven by mobile communications, confectionery and
'back to school'. Entertainment sales were adversely impacted by the lack of a
blockbuster release, and a similar offer to last year's Titanic would have
seen Woolworths overall like-for-like sales ahead 3%.
Superdrug, the health and beauty specialist, grew total sales by over 4 per
cent and like-for-like by nearly 3 per cent. Growth in Healthcare was a strong
feature, benefiting from the continued expansion of the pharmacy operations,
and significantly higher sales of medicinal products, whilst the Beauty area
saw strong like-for-like sales of skincare products.
Chief Executive's Commentary
Commenting on the sales figures, Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, Chief Executive, said:
'Overall this is a satisfactory performance considering that the third quarter
last year saw similarly strong like-for-like sales growth by the group of over
5 per cent. The current environment is extremely competitive and we are having
to work very hard to produce these performances in each of our sectors.'
Sir Geoffrey added: 'As we move into the key Christmas trading weeks of the
year, we shall continue to focus on offering our customers the best value,
choice and service. The early signs are that this Christmas is proving to be
as challenging as ever.'
For further information:
Kingfisher plc, 0171 724 7749
Press Enquiries:
Gwen Gober, Director of Corporate Affairs
Broker/Institutional Enquiries:
Keith Williams, Director of Investor Relations
QUARTER 3 TRADING STATEMENT
Third quarter 1999/00
Sales for the 13 week period ended October 30 1999
1999/00 1998/99 % %
Increa Like-
se for-
like
(Wk 27-39) (Wk 27-39)
£m Euro m £m Euro m
B&Q **^ 592.6 895.1 470.3 710.4 26.0 8.2
Castorama 564.9 853.3 N/A N/A N/A N/A
DIY sector 1,157.5 1,748.4 470.3 710.4 146.1 8.2
Darty* 285.4 431.1 281.0 424.5 1.6 4.1
Comet 240.1 362.7 205.1 309.8 17.1 9.3
Other 240.9 363.9 135.3 204.4 78.0 21.0
Electricals**
*^
Electrical 766.4 1,157.7 621.4 938.7 23.3 9.6
Sector
Woolworths 383.7 579.6 370.0 558.9 3.7 1.1
Superdrug 200.6 303.0 192.2 290.3 4.4 2.7
Other ****^ 83.6 126.3 63.3 95.6 32.1 7.0
General 667.9 1,008.9 625.5 944.8 6.8 1.8
Merchandise
Sector
Total Group 2,591.8 3,915.0 1,717.2 2,593.9 50.9 6.4
Darty (FFRm) 2,871.2 2,686.9 6.9 4.1
* All store sales suffered by £(17.6)m as a result of translation into
sterling, of which £(14)m related to Darty.
The like-for-like increases are shown at constant exchange rates.
** Includes NOMI, Screwfix and B&Q Shanghai.
*** Comprises Wegert, BUT, BCC, New Vanden Borre and Electric City.
**** Comprises Entertainment UK, MVC and VCI (Entertainment UK not included in
LFL increase).
^ Sales from Wegert, BUT, NOMI, VCI and B&Q Shanghai are for the quarter
ended 30 September.
Note: Euro comparisons are at a constant exchange rate (1.5105)
QUARTER 3 TRADING STATEMENT
Third quarter 1999/00
Sales for the 39 week period ended October 30 1999
1999/00 1998/99 % %
Increa Like-
se for-
like
(Wk 1-39) (Wk 1-39)
£m Euro m £m Euro m
B&Q **^ 1,778.7 2,686.7 1,466.2 2,214.7 21.3 7.7
Castorama 1,689.1 2,551.4 N/A N/A N/A N/A
DIY sector 3,467.8 5,238.1 1,466.2 2,214.7 136.5 7.7
Darty* 785.5 1,186.5 753.7 1,138.5 4.2 2.6
Comet 620.2 936.8 549.6 830.2 12.8 5.6
Other 672.4 1,015.7 192.1 290.2 250.0 15.2
Electricals*
**^
Electrical 2,078.1 3,139.0 1,495.4 2,258.9 39.0 5.3
Sector
Woolworths 1,086.0 1,640.4 1,046.2 1,580.3 3.8 2.2
Superdrug 595.3 899.2 558.9 844.2 6.5 4.4
Other ****^ 208.9 315.5 158.9 239.9 31.5 2.5
General 1,890.2 2,855.1 1,764.0 2,664.4 7.2 2.9
Merchandise
Sector
Total Group 7,436.1 11,232.2 4,725.6 7,138.0 57.4 5.2
Darty (FFRm) 7,813.2 7,395.6 5.6 2.6
* All store sales suffered by £(11.7)m as a result of translation into
sterling, of which £(10.2)m relates to Darty
The like-for-like increases are shown at constant exchange rates.
** Includes NOMI, Screwfix and B&Q Shanghai.
*** Comprises Wegert, BUT, BCC, New Vanden Borre and Electric City.
**** Comprises Entertainment UK, MVC and VCI (Entertainment UK not included in
LFL increase).
^ Sales from Wegert, BUT, NOMI, VCI and B&Q Shanghai are for the quarter
ended 30 September.
Note: Euro comparisons are at a constant exchange rate (1.5105)
QUARTER 3 TRADING STATEMENT
Pro-Forma Third Quarter 1999/00
(assuming all businesses owned by Kingfisher throughout both years)
Sales for the 13 week period ended October 30 1999
1999/00 1998/99 % %
Incre Like-
ase for-
like
(Wk 27-39) (Wk 27-39)
£m Euro m £m Euro m
B&Q **^ 592.6 895.1 496.5 750.0 19.4 8.3
Castorama* 564.9 853.3 552.0 833.8 2.3 2.3
DIY sector 1,157.5 1,748.4 1,048.5 1,583.8 10.4 5.1
Darty* 285.4 431.1 281.0 424.5 1.6 4.1
Comet 240.1 362.7 205.1 309.8 17.1 9.3
Other 240.9 363.9 194.3 293.5 24.0 12.6
Electricals**
*^
Electrical 766.4 1,157.7 680.4 1,027.8 12.6 8.2
Sector
Woolworths 383.7 579.6 370.0 558.9 3.7 1.1
Superdrug 200.6 303.0 192.2 290.3 4.4 2.7
Other ****^ 83.6 126.3 69.5 105.0 20.3 7.0
General 667.9 1,008.9 631.7 954.2 5.7 1.8
Merchandise
Sector
Total Group 2,591.8 3,915.0 2,360.6 3,565.8 9.8 5.2
Local
Currency
Castorama 5,693.5 5,265.0 8.1 2.3
(FFRm)
Darty (FFRm) 2,871.2 2,686.9 6.9 4.1
* All store sales suffered by £(50.0)m as a result of translation into
sterling, of which £(29.6)m and £(14.0)m related to Castorama and Darty
respectively.
The like-for-like increases are shown at constant exchange rates.
** Includes NOMI, Screwfix and B&Q Shanghai.
*** Comprises Wegert, BUT, BCC, New Vanden Borre and Electric City
**** Comprises Entertainment UK, MVC and VCI (Entertainment UK and VCI not
included in LFL increase)
^ Sales from Wegert, BUT, NOMI, VCI and B&Q Shanghai are for the quarter
ended 30 September
Note: Euro comparisons are at a constant exchange rate (1.5105)
QUARTER 3 TRADING STATEMENT
Pro-Forma Third Quarter 1999/00
(assuming all businesses owned by Kingfisher throughout both years)
Sales for the 39 week period ended October 30 1999
1999/00 1998/99 % %
Increa Like-
se for-
like
(Wk 1-39) (Wk 1-39)
£m Euro m £m Euro m
B&Q **^ 1,778.7 2,686.7 1,515.4 2,289.0 17.4 7.8
Castorama* 1,689.1 2,551.4 1,562.4 2,360.0 8.1 4.7
DIY sector 3,467.8 5,238.1 3,077.8 4,649.0 12.7 6.2
Darty* 785.5 1,186.5 753.7 1,138.5 4.2 2.6
Comet 620.2 936.8 549.6 830.2 12.8 5.6
Other 672.4 1,015.7 599.9 906.1 12.1 3.2
Electricals**
*^
Electrical 2,078.1 3,139.0 1,903.2 2,874.8 9.2 3.6
Sector
Woolworths 1,086.0 1,640.4 1,046.2 1,580.3 3.8 2.2
Superdrug 595.3 899.2 558.9 844.2 6.5 4.4
Other ****^ 208.9 315.5 188.8 285.2 10.6 2.5
General 1,890.2 2,855.1 1,793.9 2,709.7 5.4 2.9
Merchandise
Sector
Total Group 7,436.1 11,232.2 6,774.9 10,233.5 9.8 4.6
Local
Currency
Castorama 16,802.0 15,331.8 9.6 4.7
(FFRm)
Darty (FFRm) 7,813.2 7,395.6 5.6 2.6
* All store sales suffered by £(37.2)m as a result of translation into
sterling, of which £(21.1)m and £(10.2)m related to Castorama and Darty
respectively.
The like-for-like increases are shown at constant exchange rates.
** Includes NOMI, Screwfix and B&Q Shanghai.
*** Comprises Wegert, BUT, BCC, New Vanden Borre and Electric City
**** Comprises Entertainment UK, MVC and VCI (Entertainment UK and VCI not
included in LFL increase)
^ Sales from Wegert, BUT, NOMI, VCI and B&Q Shanghai are for the quarter
ended 30 September
Note: Euro comparisons are at a constant exchange rate (1.5105)
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