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Home improvement retailer Kingfisher said it was 'comfortable' with the top end of current market expectations for annual pre-tax profit as 'strong' demand continued.
Based on trading to date, the company said it was comfortable with the top end of the range of current sell-side analyst estimates for fiscal 2020/2021 adjusted pre-tax profit of £667 million to £742 million.
Kingfisher said it had continued to experience 'strong' demand across its markets following its Q3 update in November.
Fourth-quarter like-for-like sales to 9 January 2021, was up 16.9%, with LFL sales for the year to 9 January 2021, up 6.5%.
Looking ahead, the company said its visibility into performance had been impaired by fresh government-imposed lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
'While the strength of our Q4 trading, to date, is reassuring, uncertainty over COVID-19 and the impact of lockdown restrictions in most of our markets continue to limit our visibility,' the company said.
'Longer term, we are confident that the strategic and operational actions we are taking are building a strong foundation for sustainable long-term growth.'