Screwfix success offsets sales fall

KInGFISHEr has said it remains on track to meet full-year profit targets as strong growth at its Screwfix business helped offset falling sales at B&Q and a weak performance in France.

The group notched up a 3pc rise in total sales to £3bn for the third quarter, helped by a 16.6pc jump in Screwfix revenues, which drove a 2.5pc increase in sales across its UK & Ireland division.

But B&Q sales lagged behind Screwfix, with total sales falling 2.8pc in the UK & Ireland, and dropping 1.9pc on a constant currency and like-for-like basis, due to a recent store closure programme.

Poland was a bright spot across its international operations, with sales rising 11.9pc to £379m for the period, compared with a year earlier.

It helped to make up for weak growth suffered by Kingfisher in France, which operates through the Castorama and Brico Depot brands.

Its French business only managed to eke out a 0.4pc rise in sales in the third quarter. Chief executive Veronique Laury said trading was following a ‘similar course’ to the first half of the financial year.