Kingfisher was scheduled to issue its interims as Retail Week went to press, but the headline numbers were already known following last week’s administrative slip-up.
Brokers were quick to upgrade their forecasts after the forecast-beating figures. Pali International analyst Nick Bubb increased his estimate for this year from £435m to £460m.
He said: “Next year may well be a big disappointment to fans of the ‘v-shaped’ economic recovery in the UK, but Kingfisher has a proven track record, balance sheet and self-help programme.”
Oriel analyst Ramona Tipnis reiterated her buy advice and said: “An improving outlook for consumer spending brings the company’s January 2012 earnings per share target of 19.6p within its grasp.”
Broker Numis was waiting for the full interim results before updating its forecasts, but said: “We see 5% to 10% upside from our current January 2010 forecast of £414m.”
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