DIY and home improvement retailer Kingfisher Plc (LON:KGF) announced Aeon on Monday. It announced that it will bail out all of the UK and the Republic of Ireland’s business rates for the relief received as a result of the Covid crisis.
The news follows an earlier announcement by the company that it has repaid the full £23 million received under the UK government’s recruitment retention scheme. Kinghisher said: Covid-19 is facing serious uncertainty. ”
Given the resilience of the company’s performance since the lockdown, the company has since decided to return the UK and the Republic of Ireland business rate relief. The total business fee for companies eligible for the relief is approximately £130 million.
Following the announcement, the company is currently hoping that FY20/21 adjusted profits prior to taxes will include non-repeated cost savings of around £85 million.
– Subscribe – Click here to subscribe
Kingfisher CEO Thierry Garnier said the government’s support is invaluable. He added: We quickly adapted our businesses both online and in-store to meet the essential needs of our customers. He invested heavily to ensure the safety of his customers and teams, took important steps to strengthen his balance sheet and limit the economic impact of Covid-19. ”
“These actions, coupled with the development of our new strategies and efforts from our colleagues and teams, have led to growth across the group and employment of 3,500 additional colleagues. This resilience and our community Given our commitment to supporting the company, we believe it is right to return the UK and Ireland business rate relief in full.”
After the update, the company’s stock was at a relatively level, down about 0.26%, at 268.10p per share at 12:00 GMT. The price is about 2.36% ahead of the analyst’s target price of 261.78p, but 18.55% ahead of the post-pandemic high of 321.40p.
Analysts are currently held in Kingfisher’s stake and have a 59.97% “underperformance” rating from the MarketBeat community. The stock’s AP/E ratio is 36.86, with a dividend yield of 6.33%.
