LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher is a stock to avoid, opines The Times' Tempus column, adding that the outfit's share price looks full enough already.
Investors have been jittery about Kingfisher for a while, with the much-heralded shift from DIY sheds to online buying raising some eyebrows.

Moreover, the company's exposure to the French economy and the potential threat from a revived Homebase are concerns, too, the column said.

The work of countering these issues was the so-called ONE Kingfisher plan, which was the brainchild of chief executive Véronique Laury.

The plan's brief was to cut the B&Q network by 61 stores to about 300 by year's end, hike online sales and boost the Screwfix operation.

As a result it was hoped annual profits would surge by £500m come 2021, at a cost of £800m to implement.

Same time, Kingfisher would be returning £600m to investors over the first three years of the plan by means of share buybacks, £150m of it already achieved since the February start of the financial year.

"There is not a lot in the second-quarter trading statement to indicate that this plan is off track and guidance for the current year remains unchanged," the column observed.

"The main negative, though, is the French operation. Peer through the reported figures and like-for-like sales on a constant currency basis are down by more than 3% at both chains Kingfisher operates there, Castorama and Brico Dépôt."

Rough weather had dented building sentiment and activity in France, along with a wave of industrial unrest.

"This should probably be seen as a one-off," Tempus said, which pointed to the salient performance was from Screwfix in the UK, where about 50 stores were being opened each year and like-for-like sales are up by 13%.

There is a fledgling German operation and the potential to expand this further, too.

Against this backcloth, the threat posed by rival outfit Homebase, which was to be rebranded as Bunnings by new owner Wesfarmers of Australia, remained unproven.

"The final thread is to standardise the product range across the group, so the spade you buy in Manchester is the same as the one in Montpellier, thus gaining significant savings from suppliers," the column asserted.

"This is well advanced, with the first new products into B&Q in the spring."

"The strategy of making Kingfisher much more competitive looks well on track, but the share price looks full enough."

Meantime, Tempus looked to 'Hold' shares in The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG), citing an attractive yield but cheaper new shares.

Tempus liked the benefits of infrastructure stocks, citing safe and appreciable income.

The UK's non-binding referendum to quit the European Union, followed by a cut in UK's benchmark interest rate, had seen share prices surge ahead.

"About the only thing to note (regarding TRIG) is that production from the company's onshore wind and solar plants was 9% below expectations because of adverse weather and that Trig has been cleared to invest 20% of its portfolio in offshore assets, of which there should be plenty coming on to the market."

The column noted TRIG's business model was to buy plant with debt and then issue shares at a slight discount to the market price to pay this off.

TRIG already had clearance to issue another £270m-worth of shares.

"The current forward yield is 5.9% but given that share price rise I would probably hold off buying until those new shares come on to the market," Tempus said.

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