Home improvement retailer Kingfisher's sales fall in soft market

LONDON, May ⁠26 (Reuters) - European home improvement retailer ​Kingfisher reported a 0.7% fall in first-quarter underlying sales against a "soft ​market ‌backdrop" but kept its guidance for full-year profit.

The FTSE-100 listed ⁠group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix ⁠in the UK and Castorama ​and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said on Tuesday core categories proved resilient despite a late start to ​spring ‌impacting footfall and seasonal demand.

In the UK, Screwfix's like-for-like sales rose 4.1% and it won market share. But B&Q's sales on the same basis fell 4.1%, reflecting its ​higher exposure to seasonal items, such as garden furniture and ‌plants, and a tough comparative number with last year.

Official data, published last week, showed ‌British retail sales fell by the most in nearly a year in April as fuel sales plummeted, adding to signs ​of waning consumer spending against the backdrop of the Iran war and ‌rising energy costs.

In France, Kingfisher's like-for-like sales fell 2.1% in the first quarter. They were down 0.2% in Poland.

The ⁠group ⁠said it was sticking with its ‌full-year forecast for adjusted pretax profit in a range of 565 million ​pounds to 625 ​million pounds ($761-$842 million) versus the 560 ‌million pounds made in 2025/26.

Prior to the update, analysts were on average forecasting £589 million. ($1 = 0.7423 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Sam Tabahriti and Kate Holton)

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