Kingfisher sees flat sales amid economic uncertainty in the UK and France.
- Sales figures remain in line with market expectations across all brands.
- Screwfix shows strong growth, while B&Q experiences a slight decline.
- Online marketplace sales for B&Q have increased significantly.
- Full-year profit forecast has been slightly adjusted downwards.
Kingfisher has reported flat sales for the third quarter, managing to align its performance with market expectations despite facing weakening consumer sentiment and challenging market conditions in the UK and France. The company, which owns brands like B&Q and Screwfix, achieved total sales of £3.2 billion for the quarter ending 31 October, marking a 0.6% decline, with like-for-like sales down 1.1%.
Throughout August and September, Kingfisher experienced solid sales figures; however, October brought a noticeable slowdown. This deceleration was attributed to uncertainties surrounding government budgets in the UK and France, as well as adverse weather conditions. Within the UK and Ireland, the company’s brands had varied performances. Screwfix demonstrated impressive results, with like-for-like sales rising by 1.8% and overall sales growth of 4.6%, although B&Q saw a 1.0% drop in sales and a 0.6% dip in like-for-like sales.
TradePoint, B&Q’s trade-centric business, performed notably well, achieving a 4.9% growth in like-for-like sales. CEO Thierry Garnier noted the resilience in overall trading for the third quarter, with improvements observed in earlier months being counterbalanced by the increased consumer uncertainty in October due to governmental fiscal policies. Despite these challenges, all the company’s brands across the UK, France, and Poland either matched or surpassed market expectations, with Screwfix making notable gains in market share.
Kingfisher’s core product categories, which account for 69% of sales, displayed positive trends driven by repair, maintenance, and renovation activities. However, the ‘big-ticket’ product categories, comprising 16% of sales, continued to show softness, although some improvement signs were noted.
B&Q’s digital commerce efforts have seen strength, with its online marketplace sales growing by 45% year-on-year, reaching 41% of the brand’s total e-commerce sales in October. Kingfisher reported an increase in its overall e-commerce sales penetration by 1.3 percentage points to 18.8%. Looking forward, the company has slightly narrowed its full-year profit guidance, anticipating adjusted pre-tax profits to be between £510 million and £540 million, lowered marginally from an earlier estimate of up to £550 million.
Despite challenges, Kingfisher remains focused on strategic priorities to navigate market uncertainties.
