Results round-up

DIY retailer Kingfisher put together a solid start to the year, with 6.2% like-for-like growth in B&Q and Screwfix stores in the UK and Ireland contributing to 3.6% group growth to £2.7bn.

While LFL sales in France continued to show evidence of slow recovery, up 0.2% at constant currencies, Poland was also solid at 10.8% and made up for declines in the smaller Russian and Spanish businesses.

Within the UK and Ireland, B&Q LFL sales were up 3.6%, though due to the fat-trimming closure of 10 stores during the period, meaning 40 of the 65 planned are now gone, total sales were down 4.2% to £951m.

Trade outlet chain Screwfix grew total sales 23.5% to £301m, with LFLs up 16.2%.

There was also good progress in chief executive Véronique Laury's ambitious five-year strategic repair job, including the installation of a new store IT system across the estate, while a June launch is looming for a new 'offer and supply chain organisation'.

"We have made a solid start to the year, trading in line with expectations," said Laury.

"In addition, I am pleased with the early progress we are making on our operational milestones for this year, the first year of our ambitious five year plan. We continue to feel confident in our ability to deliver our plan, based on putting customer needs first, supported by the expertise and enthusiasm of our colleagues."

Water utility Severn Trent issued what it described as promising annual results on Tuesday, with group turnover down 0.8% year-on-year to £1.79bn as a result of a regulated price decrease.

The FTSE 100 firm’s group underlying profit before interest and tax was down 3.2% in the 12 months to 31 March, to £523m, with group reported PBIT up 0.4% to £524m.

Its board reported a return on regulatory equity of 8.4%, and underlying basic earnings per share of 108.7p.

Severn Trent’s board declared a final dividend of 48.4p, in line with its dividend policy, taking the full-year dividend to 80.66p.

The year also marked the start of Asset Management Programme 6 (AMP6), in which Severn Trent said it was now forecasting £670m of totex efficiencies, equating to a £260m outperformance in the five years to 2020.

“Putting our customers at the heart of our business has led to a promising start to the current regulatory period,” said chief executive Liv Garfield.

“We continue to drive down costs and have the lowest combined bills in Britain, with our customers paying on average less than a pound a day for their water and wastewater services.

“Further efficiencies are also allowing us to invest even more for the long-term benefit of our customers and shareholders,” Garfield explained.