Shares in Kingfisher (LSE: KGF) jumped this morning after releasing final results for the year ended 31 January 2016. The home improvement retailer and owner of B&Q and Screwfix revealed a tiny increase in pre-tax profits from £684m to £686m, as revenues fell 2.6% to £10.3bn.
The FTSE 100 listed company is preparing to face increased competition from Homebase after its recent sale to Australian business Wesfarmers, and remains cautious about the outlook for France. Chief Financial Officer Karen Witts commented:
“In the short term, the fundamentals of the UK economic backdrop remain positive, although we remain cautious on the outlook for France. The outlook for the wider global economy remains uncertain, and the impact of the outcome of the UK EU referendum is unknown,”.
What does the future hold for Kingfisher? Well, our friends in The City expect a 3% rise in earnings this year, with a further 7% increase earmarked for 2018.
Kingfisher shares currently trade on 16 times forecast earnings for the current year, falling to 15 times for the year ending 31 January 2018.
The shares seem fairly priced given the moderate P/E ratio, and I cannot see any reason for a re-rating anytime soon. There is a decent dividend yield of 3% on offer, but serious income investors should be able to find chunkier dividends elsewhere.
Promising Growth
Meanwhile, shares in DFS Furniture (LSE: DFS) dropped this morning despite reporting positive first half figures. The mid-cap furniture retailer announced interim results for the six months to the end of January, revealing a 12.3% rise in EBITDA to £31m, and a 7% increase in sales to £461.3m.
The interim dividend was lifted 12.9% to 3.5p per share, and will be payable on June 22 to shareholders registered before the June 3 when the shares go ex-dividend. The outlook seems promising, with analysts predicting a 4% rise in earnings this year, followed by a 16% increase for the year ending 31 July 2017.
The shares currently trade on 14 times forecast earnings for this year, falling to 12 for fiscal 2017. Although the forecast P/E ratio seems low, it’s on a par with previous levels and I do not see an obvious bargain here. I think better opportunities lie elsewhere for value investors.
Turning a Profit?
Also announcing final results today was Anglo Pacific (LSE: APF) . Shares in this Small-Cap miner rose sharply this morning after it reported a massive 149% jump in revenue to £8.7m, and a reduction in after-tax losses of £22.6m compared to £47.6m in 2014.
The company is expected to post a £5.6m profit this year, with £10.5m profit pencilled-in for 2017. Anglo Pacific shares currently trade on 19 times forecast earnings for the current year, falling to 10 for the year ending 31 December 2017.
I believe the shares offer exceptional value given the low P/E ratio and promising growth outlook.
Foolish Final Thoughts
Growth investors might want to take a closer look at Anglo Pacific as I believe the shares offer significant upside potential in the medium term. However investors interested in the larger companies might want to wait for a weakness in the share price before moving in on Kingfisher and DFS.
