Home improvement retail group Kingfisher has blamed wet weather for lower sales in the UK and France during its first-quarter period but said improving trends in April gave it confidence it would meet forecasts.
Sales for the three months to 30 April slid 3.3% on a like-for-like basis to £3.3bn following weak demand for seasonal products such as garden furniture and barbecues.
At B&Q in the UK, like-for-like sales only fell 1.6% after a 2.1% uplift in core and ‘big-ticket’ helped offset a 13.7% fall in seasonal items.
Screwfix saw like-for-like sales edge up 0.7%, with demand from trade customers driving market share gains.
In France, like-for-like sales across its Castorama and Brico Dépôt chains fell 4.1%, impacted by the poor weather and national pension reform strikes.
Kingfisher noted that it had experienced an improvement in seasonal sales since early April, as well as continued resilience in its core and ‘big-ticket’ categories. For the three weeks to 20 May, like-for-like sales were down only 1%, including a 0.4% impact from the additional UK coronation public holiday.
Chief Executive, Thierry Garnier, commented: “As we move through our key trading season, we are pleased to see that sales in our core and ‘big-ticket’ categories, which make up over 80% of our total sales, are showing continued resilience.
“The unusually poor spring weather in the UK and France affected our seasonal sales in the quarter, impacting demand for items such as garden and outdoor products.
“We have however seen an improvement in trading since early April, and anticipate a release of some pent-up demand as the weather continues to improve. Our inventory remains healthy and, in aggregate, is reducing in line with our expectations.”
The group stated that it was comfortable with market expectations for an adjusted full-year pre-tax profit of £634m and expects to report an adjusted pre-tax profit of around £350m in its first half.
Kingfisher noted that it was “maintaining a sharp focus on competitive pricing, while balancing inflationary pressures”. With the continued easing of raw material prices and freight costs, the group said it expects to see lower product cost inflation in the second half of the year.
