Investec retains 'sell' rating on Kingfisher

Kingfisher’s ‘sell’ rating was reiterated and its target price was put under review by Investec on Monday after the company announced a five-year transformation programme.

The owner of home improvements retailer B&Q said it plans to deliver a £500m sustainable annual profit uplift by the end of the transformation programme.

However, it warned that profits were likely to take a take a £50m hit in the first year of the plan and a hit of between £70m and £100m in the second year.

The company, which operates Castorama and Brico Depot in France, said it also plans a capital return of £600m over the next three years – most likely via a share buyback – in addition to the annual ordinary dividend.

“The combined equivalent yield (capital return and ordinary dividend per share) of 5.5% is insufficient for the execution risk in our view,” said Investec analyst Kate Calvert.

“There are a lot of moving parts and no guarantee that all the cost will fall out and the profits come through. Forecasts and target price placed under review ahead of meeting.”