B&Q owner sees further slide in sales

The group's flagship B&Q business, which operates from 330 stores in the UK and Ireland, saw like-for-like sales drop 5.1 per cent in the third quarter to October 30, compared with 3.7 per cent reported at the half-year stage, due to lower footfall and tougher comparisons with a year earlier.

Profits across Kingfisher's UK and Ireland division, which also includes building supplies arm Screwfix, were flat at 46m after the company managed to offset the sales fall by protecting margins through better product sourcing and cost efficiencies.

There was better news for Kingfisher from its Castorama and Brico Depot operation in France, where the company outperformed the wider market to increase like-for-like sales by 1.8 per cent and deliver a third quarter profits rise of 3.1 per cent to 130m.

Castorama grew like-for-like sales by four per cent after benefiting from a store modernisation programme and a 'Do-it-Smart' marketing campaign aimed at making home improvement projects easier for customers.

Kingfisher's international sales, including operations in Spain, Russia, China, Poland and Turkey, were down 1.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis but with profits up 18 per cent to 64m.

Across the group, profits were up 8.2 per cent on a year earlier to 240m during the quarter.