Coronavirus: Kingfisher cautions on sales uncertainty as France locks down

The Anglo-French giant, which owns B&Q in the UK and Castorama and Brico Dépôt in France, said that the measures, which followed a French government directive over the weekend ordering the closure of non-essential public space, would last until April 14.

Kingfisher said that all 28 of its stores in Spain have also closed until March 29, following the Spanish government’s declaration of a two-week state of emergency.

The retailer said it was working to mitigate the impact of the closures through, for instance, home delivery services.

However, Kingfisher warned: “There is significant uncertainty on sales and demand as the outbreak spreads, and as central governments and businesses take action to contain and delay its impact.”

The retailer reported that, until the weekend, there had been no impact on trading and that in February group like-for-likes rose 7.6%, or 2.3% excluding the leap-year impact.

In the first two weeks of this month, group like-for-likes ”continued to be positive, with growth across all businesses within our core markets, strongly supported by ecommerce sales”.

Kingfisher said it has “modelled the impact of various downside scenarios on the business” and bosses “are managing the business to protect profitability, and taking immediate and significant actions to reduce costs and optimise our cash flow and liquidity.”

The group has just over £1bn “in total liquidity immediately available”.

Kingfisher chief executive Thierry Garnier said: ”We are committed to supporting local authorities and governments to limit the spread of the virus, and the health and safety of our colleagues and customers remains our top priority. Our teams are also evaluating the best ways to satisfy emergency needs in our markets, particularly for electricity, heating and plumbing.

”While significant uncertainty exists around the impact of Covid-19, we are taking immediate and significant measures to contain our costs and protect our financial position. We have a strong balance sheet, with significant liquidity headroom and limited financial debt.”