Some thumping losses were served up by the stock market on Monday morning for the DIY retailer Kingfisher, the operator of brands including B&Q and Screwfix. A Q3 trading update published this morning highlighted that consumer uncertainty in both France and the UK had hampered sales growth at the end of the reporting period, with management also tightening profit guidance slightly, reducing top end estimates by £10m. However despite assurances that they were beating market peers and a commitment to further capital returns for shareholders, the stock was hit hard, with next year’s predicted £31m impact on National Insurance changes also taking a toll. The Kingfisher share price was down as much as 13% by 9am.
Keeping with retail and it was a good morning for JD Sports whose stock managed to find some support after last week’s notable selling. A Q3 trading update published on Thursday clearly did little to instil confidence after lower sales left the company reducing its profit guidance. However some investors, including two senior executives of the firm, are sniffing a bargain. The chairman and a non-exec director collectively invested around £100k in the business off the back of the sell-off. The JD Sports share price was up by more than 4% at 9am on Monday.
The mining giant published a statement this morning noting that it had agreed on the sale of its remaining steelmaking coal portfolio for $3.8bn, taking the total amount received from exiting this line of business to almost $5bn. This is part of an ongoing theme of consolidation that the company is undertaking, with the aim of focusing on a smaller number of quality assets to deliver a differentiated investment proposition. Anglo American shares were trading almost 2% higher shortly after the open but that’s in line with sector peers.
Headlines we expect to see tomorrow
AO World Interim Results
This time last year Revenue £482m, Pre-tax profit £13m
Halfords Interim Results
This time last year Revenue £873m, Gross margin 47.8%, Pre-tax profit £19.3m
