B&Q UK and Ireland sees positive like-for-like (lfl) sales growth for first time in six quarters.
The Kingfisher Q1 trading update for the 13 weeks ended April 30 shows lfl sales at B&Q in the UK and Ireland were up 1.4% to £1,187m - the first lfl sales increase for 18 months. Retail profit grew 10.1% to £74m.

Sales were obviously boosted by Easter and the subsequent extra Royal Wedding holiday and by the weather during the period which included the warmest April on record.

Unsurprisingly this meant that seasonal categories were strong, showing a 15% increase. However, this was at the expense of indoor project sales. Which, said the company, declined 10% in the period. Gross margin slipped as a result, as a higher sales mix of lower margin seasonal products combined with spring promotions.

Screwfix also had a strong quarter, with total sales reaching £23m, an increase of 5.4%, and retail profit up an impressive 44% to £9m - £4m more than the same period in 2010.

International sales were buoyant (up 5.4% in France and 3.7% elsewhere internationally) with the result that, as a group Kingfisher saw lfl sales increase 3.3% in the quarter with retail group profit, stated in constant currency, up a very encouraging 20.9%.

Group chief exec Ian Cheshire said: ""I am pleased that we have made a strong start to the year, capitalising on more favourable weather conditions right across Europe and extended public holidays in the UK. We delivered sales growth in all three of our divisions, with continued margin initiatives and improved cost productivity delivering retail profits up over 20%. In France, where our initiatives aimed at making home improvement easier for our customers are most advanced, our performance was particularly strong with sales growing ahead of the market.

"Whilst we have got off to a good start, it remains our view that this year is likely to be a tough one for all retailers, especially in the UK. It is also likely that the early spring weather will have brought forward some of our outdoor seasonal sales. So we remain very focused on our well-established programme of self-help to deliver a solid full year result, especially with the key summer trading period in France still ahead of us. We are also busy mobilising the business for the next phase of our longer term growth."