FTSE 100 movers: Kingfisher surges on guidance upgrade; Smiths falls

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 9,258.14 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. Kingfisher surged to the top of the index as the DIY retailer lifted its full-year profit guidance despite weaker consumer sentiment, following strong interim trading.

Sales at the owner of B&Q and Screwfix rose by 0.8%, or by 1.9% on a like-for-like basis, to £6.8bn in the six months to 31 July, driven by both increased volumes and transactions.

Operating profits rose by 2.1% to £383m, while pre-tax profits were 4.1% higher at £338m.

The blue chip flagged a "strong" performance in the UK, with like-for-like sales up 4.4% and 3% at B&Q and Screwfix respectively.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "In what feels like pretty gloomy economic circumstances the latest results from B&Q-owner Kingfisher measure up as an achievement to match an amateur taking on a good-sized DIY project.

"Some of its strong showing can be attributed to a one-off factor in the warm summer weather which helped drive sales of garden furniture and barbeques so investors will be watching future updates closely for any signs of the outlook deteriorating.

"In that context, the decision to accelerate the company's share buyback programme and to guide for a full-year outcome at the top end of current guidance is a decent show of confidence.

"While sales remain fairly sluggish, Kingfisher has kept a tight rein on costs and has captured a larger number of trade customers - which typically buy a higher volume of items and often higher value ones too. It is also doing a decent job of maintaining and building on its robust market position.

"The company may never get back to the levels of demand seen during the pandemic. Back then households had the means and incentive to spend money on doing up indoor spaces in which they were spending most of their time and other parts of the retail sector couldn't trade from physical outlets.

"However, Kingfisher is showing signs of setting itself on a sustainable path and investors are reacting accordingly."

Land Securities was also higher as it hosted a capital markets event in Liverpool, saying that since its results in May, it has seen "good momentum" on its primary financial objective of delivering sustainable income and earnings per share growth.

It highlighted ongoing strength in occupational demand across its central London and major retail portfolios.

Smiths Group lost ground despite delivering strong annual results, with organic growth coming in ahead of twice-raised guidance and profits up by double digits.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Kingfisher (KGF) 294.10p 16.61% Land Securities Group (LAND) 583.50p 3.64% Convatec Group (CTEC) 238.00p 2.59% Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,417.00p 2.42% easyJet (EZJ) 458.00p 2.39% Persimmon (PSN) 1,127.00p 2.36% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 359.60p 2.07% Entain (ENT) 878.80p 2.02% SEGRO (SGRO) 649.80p 2.01% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,144.00p 2.01%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 48.92p -4.07% Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,314.00p -2.69% St James's Place (STJ) 1,264.50p -1.67% AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,352.00p -1.29% Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,187.00p -1.25% Aviva (AV.) 670.60p -1.18% British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,933.00p -0.96% Diploma (DPLM) 5,395.00p -0.92% Admiral Group (ADM) 3,260.00p -0.91% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 238.20p -0.83%