Overview

• First‑half sales reached £6.81bn with pre‑tax profit up 4.1% to £338m, as group like‑for‑like sales rose 1.9%.
• Full‑year adjusted pre‑tax profit is now guided to the upper end of £480m–£540m, with free cash flow raised to £480m–£520m and the £300m buyback brought forward to complete by March.
• UK like‑for‑like sales grew 3.9% with B&Q up 4.4% and Screwfix up 3%, driven by strong demand for kitchens and seasonal goods plus customer transfers after Homebase closures; eight former Homebase sites reopened as B&Q.
• The stock surged roughly 17%–19% in London trading after the upgrade and capital return acceleration.
• Management flagged about £145m of cost headwinds from wage and tax changes but expects to offset them, while performance remains softer in France and Poland and stronger in Iberia.