FY 2020/21 Technical guidance

FY 2020/21 Technical guidance

Income statement:

• Sales outlook
  • Uncertainty over COVID-19 and the impact of lockdown restrictions
• Costs
  • Anticipate that FY 20/21 adjusted profit before tax will include c.£85m of non-recurring cost savings, net of any one-off COVID-related costs
  • COVID-related costs⁽¹⁾ – expected to be c.£45m, which includes one-off and recurring elements
  • Central costs – expected to be c.£58m (FY 19/20: £62m)
  • UK and Republic of Ireland business rates – as previously announced, Kingfisher will forego all business rates relief for the 20/21 tax year. c.£130m of Kingfisher’s annual business rates bill was eligible for this relief, of which c.£110m would have fallen in FY 20/21
  • Furlough – no claims under furlough programmes in the UK (including the Job Retention Bonus) and France since 1 July; repaid UK furlough benefit received in H1 20/21 (c.£23m) in November 2020
• Net finance costs
  • Expected to be in line with prior year (FY 19/20: £173m, before exceptional items) due to incremental financing costs for PGE, CCFF and RCFs, offset by impact of reduced lease liability
• Adjusted profit before tax
  • Comfortable with the top end of the range of current sell-side analyst estimates⁽²⁾
• Tax rate
  • Group adjusted effective tax rate expected to be c.23%⁽³⁾ (FY 19/20: 26%)
• Exceptional items
  • Expect to record c.£15-20m of restructuring costs in H2 20/21 in relation to the Group’s new commercial operating model (as announced in September 2020)

Cash flow:

• PGE – in December 2020, the Group repaid its French Term facility in full, including c.£549m of capital and c.£3m of interest
• Capital expenditure – gross capex of c.£280m (FY 19/20: £342m); c.£70m of further expenditure deferred into FY 21/22
• Tax incremental one-off cash impact this year of c.£50m from HMRC accelerated UK corporation tax payments

Previously announced 11 store closures in France

• All 11 stores now closed:
  • 3 stores closed in France (1 Castorama, 2 Brico Dépôt) in H2 19/20
  • 4 Castorama stores closed in H1 20/21
  • 4 further Castorama stores closed in H2 20/21 to date, of which 2 are to be converted to Brico Dépôt stores (opening in FY 21/22)
  • All cash costs of closures in FY 20/21 fully provided for in previous periods

Footnotes

⁽¹⁾ Includes costs of PPE and social distancing, donations, new store layouts, additional store security, and bonuses to frontline store staff.

⁽²⁾ According to Company-compiled consensus estimates as of 4 January 2021, the current range of sell-side analyst expectations for FY 20/21 adjusted profit before tax is £667m to £742m.

⁽³⁾ Subject to the blend of profit within the Group’s various jurisdictions.

Information correct as at 12 January 2021.

Forward-looking statements

You are not to construe the content of the information above as investment, legal or tax advice and you should make your own evaluation of the Company and the market. If you are in any doubt about the contents of the information above or the action you should take, you should consult a person authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) (or if you are a person outside the UK, otherwise duly qualified in your jurisdiction).

The financial information referenced above is not audited and does not contain sufficient detail to allow a full understanding of the results of the Group. Nothing in this information should be construed as either an offer or invitation to sell or any offering of securities or any invitation or inducement to any person to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire securities in any company within the Group or an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended).

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