(Recasts with details, shares)
LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Kingfisher, Europe'slargest home improvements retailer, posted improved growth inboth Britain and France in its latest 10-week sales on Thursday,with the outcome in the UK and Ireland boosted by its Screwfixdivision.
Sales at stores open more than a year rose 16.7 percent inthe 10 weeks to July 11 at Screwfix, which supplies tools,plumbing and electrical equipment to Britain's tradesmen andhome improvement enthusiasts.
Kingfisher's B&Q chain aimed at the mass-market reportedsame-store sales up 3.4 percent over the same period.
In March new Chief Executive Veronique Laury detailed plansto reshape Kingfisher, including closing 60 B&Q stores, cuttingthe number of product lines, developing unified garden andbathroom businesses and starting a revitalisation programme forbig stores across Europe.
Screwfix trades from 412 stores and Kingfisher believes thebusiness has scope for over 500 outlets.
Kingfisher's group same-store sales rose 3.5 percent in the10-week period, helped by soft comparative numbers in the sameperiod last year and better weather in June and July, whichboosted demand for products such as fans, sprinklers and beddingplants.
Shares in Kingfisher, the world's No. 3 do-it-yourself (DIY)player behind U.S. companies Lowe's and Home Depot, were up 2.2 percent at 375 pence at 0717 GMT, valuingthe business at 8.7 billion pounds ($13.6 billion).
The stock has risen 29 percent over the last nine months.
Same-store sales were up 5.5 percent in the UK and Irelandand up 1.3 percent in France.
For the full second quarter, which includes an additionalthree weeks of trading, analysts are forecasting a rise of 4.1percent for the UK and Ireland and growth of 0.3 percent inFrance, according to forecasts compiled by Kingfisher.
In the first quarter it recorded a rise of 1.6 percent inthe UK and Ireland and a fall of 1.2 percent in France.
($1 = 0.6395 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Jason Neely)