Bumper gains were seen for Kingfisher this morning, the owners of retail brands including Screwfix and B&Q, following the publication of half year results. Group sales were 1.3% higher in constant currency terms, but a 100 basis point gross margin improvement helped deliver a 7.5% uptick in adjusted retail profits, with full year guidance being revised towards the upper end of the previously forecast range. Improved mortgage affordability, real wage growth and stable housing transactions are all seen as supporting the business. The Kingfisher share price was 17% higher in the first few minutes of trade.
The developer of high-performance, low-cost computer published interim results today with revenues down 6% and gross profits down by 3%. This was in line with management expectations and came against some tough comparatives following a successful first half to FY24. Management report a strong start to the second half and note order demand is growing but this hasn’t been enough to placate investors. The Raspberry Pi share price was trading around 5% lower shortly after the open.
Diversified engineering company Smiths Group published full year results this morning. The business had previously increased growth guidance on two occasions and still managed to beat that, with organic revenue up 8.9% and organic operating profit margins up by 60 basis points. The pace isn’t forecast to continue although revenue growth of 4-6% for the year ahead gives management confidence that medium term targets remain on track. FY25 has been seen as a pivotal year for the business and the Smiths Group share price was trading up almost 4% in early trade.
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