Kingfisher sales clipped as pandemic boom fades

THE pandemic-fuelled DIY boom appears to be fading as B&Q’s owner revealed that sales slipped in the first three months of the year.

Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, said sales in the three months to April 30 were £3.2bn, a 5.4pc fall from the same period last year.

The group, which has 1,102 stores in the UK, soared through the pandemic as homeowners stuck inside turned to DIY to spruce up their properties.

Kingfisher became only the third British retailer to top £1bn in profit in 2021 and at the time boss Thierry Garnier said the boom showed ‘no signs of slowing down’.

But in the first quarter of this year it failed to keep up with last year’s massively elevated sales figure and in the UK and Ireland sales fell 15.8pc from last year to £1.57bn.

Shares have shedded more than a quarter this year as a slew of hedge funds have built up bets against the firm’s prospects emerging from the pandemic amid soaring inflation.

But despite yesterday’s sales slip, shares jumped 2.2pc, or 5.4p, to 252.2p as the FTSe100 firm struck a bullish tone for the year ahead. It reaffirmed its guidance of £770m profit in the year to next January and announced a £300m share buyback in a boost to investors.

Kingfisher also said business is still well ahead of pre-pandemic levels, with sales 16.2pc higher in the first quarter than the same period in 2019.