HOW ENCOURAGING ARE THE EARLY PROFIT FIGURES FROM KINGFISHER?
NICK BUBB PALI INTERNATIONAL
“Next year may well be a big disappointment to fans of the ‘V-shaped’ recovery in the UK, but Kingfisher has a proven track record, balance sheet and self-help programme. We think it’s safe to push up our target price from 250p to 270p, given further upgrade potential on B&Q.”
MATTHEW MCEACHRAN SINGER CAPITAL MARKETS
“We believe many factors behind the strong trading update are continuing in nature and not necessarily one-off or driven by the seasonal trading conditions. The BRC and BDO surveys confirm housing activity is picking up, and this is yet to feed through to the group’s trading performance.”
DAVID JEARY INVESTEC SECURITIES
‘”While unfortunate in the nature of disclosure, the good news being disclosed can’t be disguised and has merely arrived a few days early. We expect full-year pre-tax profit to move up around 10 per cent from the current estimate, underpinning our view of an increase in the dividend.”