DIYWEEK.net

Kingfisher has announced its third quarter trading results, revealing an overall sales slide of 2.8% like-for-like, settling current revenue at £2.7bn. B&Q UK and Ireland saw sales decline 2.3% to £906m, a dip of 4% LfL, but retail profit was boosted by 1.7% due to higher gross margins.
Though Kingfisher bosses blamed a weak consumer backdrop in the UK and a "particularly challenging" Irish trading environment for B&Q's performance, the quarter marked a significant improvement compared with Q1, where LfL sales were down 11.7%.

Screwfix, on the other hand, continued its streak of positive revenue growth with sales up 10.9% to £149m. The retailer has benefitted from the opening of 12 new outlets during the trading quarter, as well as its successful click and collect service. Retail profit was up 19.8% to £14m. Speaking to DIY Week at a recent Screwfix Innovation Day, commercial director Andrew Livingston called the retailer an "agile business" and added: "I think in tough times customers seek out strong businesses and that is what we are becoming."

Kingfisher group chief executive Ian Cheshire said: "Following a particularly tough first half, I am pleased that our teams' hard work has delivered a solid profit performance in our third quarter, one of our most significant trading periods in the year. Our markets remain challenging, with consumer confidence still weak and so we maintain our strong focus on margin, costs and cash.

"Kingfisher is in good shape and I remain enthusiastic about our longer-term prospects under our new 'Creating the Leader' programme which will establish us as a world class retailer at helping customers have better and more sustainable homes."