FY 2023/24 Technical guidance

Income statement

• Space
  • Sales impact of c.+1.5% from net space growth, largely from Screwfix and Castorama Poland
• New businesses
  • ‘Other’ retail losses of c.£40m (FY 22/23: £30m), with increase driven by additional investment in Screwfix France. ‘Other’ consists of the consolidated results of Screwfix International, NeedHelp, and franchise agreements, recorded within the ‘Other International’ division
• Central costs
  • Anticipate c.£60m, in line with FY 21/22 levels (FY 22/23: £49m; FY 21/22: £60m)
• Net finance costs
  • Decrease by c.£5m as a result of lower interest expense on lease liabilities (FY 22/23: £112m)
• Adjusted pre-tax profit
  • Comfortable with current consensus of sell-side analyst estimates for full year adjusted pre-tax profit⁽¹⁾
• Tax rate
  • Group adjusted effective tax rate* of c.25%⁽²⁾ (FY 22/23: 22%)

Cash flow

• Capital expenditure – targeting gross capex to be broadly flat (FY 22/23: £449m; c.3.4% of total sales)
• Free cash flow – >£500m for the year, supported by the unwind of working capital outflows in the prior year
• Share buybacks – c.£105m outflow for completion of current £300m share buyback programme
• Dividends – dividend policy target cover range of 2.25 to 2.75 times, based on adjusted basic earnings per share

⁽¹⁾ Guidance assumes current exchange rates. According to Company-compiled consensus estimates as of 14 March 2023, the current consensus of sell-side analyst expectations for FY 23/24 adjusted pre-tax profit is £633m.

⁽²⁾ Subject to the blend of profit within the Group’s various jurisdictions.

Forward-looking statements

You are not to construe the content of this announcement 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 this announcement 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).

This announcement has been prepared in relation to the financial results for the 12 months ended 31 January 2023. The financial information referenced in this announcement is not audited and does not contain sufficient detail to allow a full understanding of the results of the Group. Nothing in this announcement 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) (or, otherwise under any other law, regulation or exchange rules in any other applicable jurisdiction).

Certain information contained in this announcement may constitute "forward-looking statements" (including within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), which can be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "would", "could", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "estimate", "intend", "continue", "target", "plan", "goal", "aim", forecast, or "believe" (or the negatives thereof) or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and our current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and include statements which look forward in time or statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations and those of our Officers, Directors and employees concerning, amongst other things, the Company's results of operations, financial condition, changes in global or regional trade conditions (including a downturn in the retail or financial services industries), competitive influences, changes in tax rates, exchange rates or interest rates, changes to customer preferences, the state of the housing and home improvement markets, share repurchases and dividends, capital expenditure and capital allocation, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies, litigation or other proceedings to which we are subject, acts of war or terrorism worldwide, work stoppages, slowdowns or strikes, public health crises, outbreaks of contagious disease (including but not limited to the COVID pandemic), environmental disruption or political volatility. By their nature, forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to future events, risks and uncertainties – many of which are beyond our control, dependent on actions of third parties, or currently unknown to us – as well as potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual events or results or actual performance of the Group to differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward looking statements.

For further information regarding risks to Kingfisher's business, please consult the risk management section of the Company's Annual Report (as published). No representation, warranty or other assurance is made as to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on, such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as of the date of this announcement and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statement to reflect any new information, change in circumstances, or change in the Company's expectations to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.