Shares at Kingfisher have fallen by 12% after its profit before tax dropped by 35.4% in the year to 31 January 2025.

The British multinational firm, which owns retail brands including B&Q, Screwfix and TradePoint, recorded a 29.7% year-on-year decline in its operating profit, which reached £407m in this period.

Furthermore, its group sales fell by 1.5% to almost £12.8bn, while its dividend remained flat year-on-year at 12.4 pence per share.

Despite this, Kingfisher said that it had made market share gains in the UK and Ireland, France and Poland, which was "driven by e-commerce and trade".

Chief executive officer at Kingfisher, Thierry Garnier, said: "For the first time in over six years, we grew our market share in all key regions. We delivered profit and free cash flow in line with or ahead of our initial guidance, with strong delivery against our strategic objectives. Our e-commerce marketplaces are now live in the UK & Ireland, France, Poland and Iberia, and growing strongly with total GMV up 62%.

"As expected, the wider market backdrop was a headwind, though we maintained our laser focus on managing costs and cash, removing £120m of structural costs and lowering same-store inventory by over £100m."

The update comes as the firm announced a new £300m share buyback programme, having recently completed a programme of the same value. The retail company has completed £900m in share buybacks since September 2021.

In its outlook, Kingfisher said that it expects profit before tax to reach between £480m to £540m in the 2025/26 financial year, with a free cash flow in the range of £420m and £480m.

In the medium to longer-term, the firm said that it remains "confident" for the sector and is targeting a free cash flow of over £500m per annum from the 2026/27 financial year.

However, investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, stated that the firm is "stuck is reverse gear" and has questioned its outlook.

He concluded: "The B&Q owner is one of the most shorted stocks on the UK market as hedge funds bet that its problems can’t be fixed in the current fragile retail environment. They have been right so far, with the shares slumping even further on its latest set of results.

"Every key figure apart from gross margins was in reverse on a full-year basis. Guidance for the new year includes a wide profit range, the bottom end being worse than that achieved in the past year. Cash flow is also expected to be worse year-on-year.

"It’s all very well starting the results by saying its market share grew in all regions for the first time in over six years and launching a new share buyback programme. Investors aren’t fooled – Kingfisher is broken and something has to change fast. If Wickes and DFS can show resilience in a tough market, there is no excuse for Kingfisher not to keep its head above water."

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