Kingfisher makes strong start as Q1 sales and profits rise

- Retail profit up 20.3%- LFL sales climb 6.1%- £100m special dividend announcedDecent weather and a later-than-usual Easter helped DIY retailer Kingfisher lift profits by a fifth in its first quarter, as the company saw like-for-like (LFL) sales rise across the board.The company, which owns B&Q in the UK and Mr Bricolage in France, also announced a special dividend of 4.2p per share, equalling £100m, as part of the previously-announced £200m in total capital to be returned to shareholders this year.Retail profit climbed 20.3% on a constant currency basis to £142m in the three months ended May 3rd. As well as "favourable weather patterns" compared with last year, Kingfisher also said "encouraging underlying signs" in the UK and Poland helped to offset ongoing weak consumer confidence in France.Constant currency sales during the quarter were 9.2% higher at £2.78bn, though reported growth was limited to just 6.1% as foreign exchange movements pulled sales in France slightly lower.Nevertheless, LFL sales across the group increased by 6.1%, compared with the meagre 0.7% growth registered over the whole of the last financial year."We have made a strong start to the year, capitalising on more favourable weather conditions right across Europe to achieve sales and profit growth in France, the UK and Poland, our three largest markets," said Chief Executive Sir Ian Cheshire."Whilst this is encouraging, the first quarter is one of our smallest and the growth achieved largely reflects comparisons with the very difficult start to last year."He said that, as usual, the company will look at the first half as a whole to "properly assess" its underlying performance.BC