Home improvement retailer Kingfisher's sales fall in soft market
Kingfisher's Financial Performance and Market Overview
First-Quarter Sales and Market Conditions
LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - European home improvement retailer Kingfisher reported a 0.7% fall in first-quarter underlying sales against a "soft market backdrop" but kept its guidance for full-year profit.
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 Tuesday core categories proved resilient despite a late start to spring impacting footfall and seasonal demand.
UK Performance
In the UK, Screwfix's like-for-like sales rose 4.1% and it won market share. But B&Q's sales on the same basis fell 4.1%, reflecting its higher exposure to seasonal items, such as garden furniture and plants, and a tough comparative number with last year.
Retail Sector Trends
Official data, published last week, showed British retail sales fell by the most in nearly a year in April as fuel sales plummeted, adding to signs of waning consumer spending against the backdrop of the Iran war and rising energy costs.
International Performance
In France, Kingfisher's like-for-like sales fell 2.1% in the first quarter. They were down 0.2% in Poland.
Profit Forecast and Analyst Expectations
The group said it was sticking with its full-year forecast for adjusted pretax profit in a range of 565 million pounds to 625 million pounds ($761-$842 million) versus the 560 million pounds made in 2025/26.
Prior to the update, analysts were on average forecasting £589 million.
($1 = 0.7423 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Sam Tabahriti and Kate Holton)
