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* Beats forecasts with 44% jump in 2020-21 profit
* Q1 of 2021-22 underlying sales up 24.2% so far
* Expects underlying sales to dip in second half
* Shares up 4.4%
(Adds detail, CEO comments, shares)
By James Davey
LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - British home improvement
retailer Kingfisher said it expected the supportive
industry trends established by the COVID-19 pandemic to endure
as it reported a 44% jump in full year profit and a strong start
to its new financial year.
Thierry Garnier, CEO of the group that owns B&Q and Screwfix
in the UK and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other
markets, said it would benefit from more people choosing to work
from home even as the crisis recedes.
"There is no doubt that the trend of flexible working
arrangements has accelerated forward many years," he told
reporters on Monday.
"Over time these factors will lead to material changes such
as more wear and tear on the home and the need to organise
living space differently thereby creating a structurally
supportive shift for home improvement."
Garnier also said the crisis had seen the emergence of a new
generation of DIY'ers.
He highlighted that 18-to-34 year olds had done more home
improvement than any other age group, with 20% doing
do-it-yourself for the first time.
"All of this is very encouraging for the future of our
industry," he said.
Kingfisher reported an adjusted pretax profit for the year
to Jan. 31 of 786 million pounds ($1.1 billion) - ahead of
analysts' average forecast of 757 million pounds and the 544
million pounds made in 2019-20.
Its shares were up 4.4% at 0912 GMT, extending year-on-year
gains to 159% and valuing the business at 6.9 billion pounds.
Sales rose 6.8% on a constant currency basis to 12.3 billion
pounds, with like-for-like sales up 7.1% for the year and up
15.5% in the fourth quarter.
The pandemic has also boosted shopping online. Kingfisher
highlighted e-commerce sales growth of 158% in the year.
Kingfisher's like-for-like sales have accelerated to be up
24.2% in the first quarter so far of its new financial year.
The group, which resumed dividend payments, is planning for
low double-digit like-for-like sales growth in the first half of
its 2021-22 year, but a dip in the second half of up to 15% due
to tougher comparative numbers and uncertainty over the
macroeconomic and consumer environment.
It is aiming to grow full-year adjusted pretax profit,
before 85 million pounds of non-recurring net cost savings, in
line with sales.
($1 = 0.7223 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Edmund Blair and Kirsten
Donovan)
