Home improvement retailer Kingfisher's sales buoyed by sunny UK

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) -European home improvement retailer Kingfisher reported a 1.8% rise in first quarter same store sales after good weather boosted sales of garden furniture and barbecues in Britain, although business in France was hurt by low consumer confidence.

The FTSE-100 listed group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix in the UK and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said on Wednesday it was sticking with its full-year forecast for adjusted pre-tax profit of 480 million pounds to 540 million pounds ($647-$728 million), versus 528 million pounds in 2024/25.

Kingfisher shares dropped 3%, paring their 2025 gains so far to 15%, after the company failed to upgrade its profit outlook.

"We believe a better performance was needed from France and Poland for the shares to push on today," Investec analyst Kate Calvert said.

The group, which trades from over 1,900 stores, said like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland rose 5.9% in the three months to April 30 but were down 3.2% in both France and Poland. However, Kingfisher said it won market share in all of those countries.

"Our UK banners performed particularly well, driven by strong seasonal sales and growth in trade and e-commerce," chief executive Thierry Garnier said.

Sunny weather boosted overall British retail sales in April and households grew cheerier this month, according to figures published last week that suggested consumer spending might be a bright spot in an otherwise drab outlook for the economy.

However, in France, data showed consumer confidence hit a five-month low this month on growing worries about the economy and unemployment.

Kingfisher noted that in the UK and Ireland, sales of seasonal products, such as garden furniture, barbecues and plants, jumped 28.3% year-on-year, largely due to better weather.

But it cautioned that some of this growth was likely to have been pulled forward from the second quarter.

($1 = 0.7420 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; editing by William James and Sophie Walker)