Register to get free articles
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, has posted a 1.6% increase in revenue during the three months ending 31 July.
The increase was driven by a 3.6% increase in revenue at B&Q’s UK and RoI stores which Kingfisher said benefitted from sales in “weather-related categories”.
Screwfix reported a 5.5% increase in the attributed to the opening of 12 new stores during the period.
Kingfisher said the good Q2 sales recovery at B&Q and Screwfix versus Q1 was “within the context of a continuing weak UK consumer backdrop in which sales and gross margin of unified and unique ranges continued to grow”.
However Kingfisher’s overall sales were held back by a 1% drop in like-for-like sales in France due to weaker footfall and impact of transformation-related activity at its Castorama brand.
Veronique Laury, chief executive officer, said: “We started our transformation two and a half years ago and are on track to deliver our strategic milestones for the third year in a row. In Q2, I’m pleased that we grew our sales after the exceptionally harsh weather conditions in Q1. In B&Q, Screwfix and Brico Depot France we delivered good sales growth.
“However, the performance of Castorama France has been more difficult and as a result we have put additional actions in place to support our full year performance in France with the benefits expected to come through in H2. We look forward to providing a more detailed update at our H1 results in September.”
