Kingfisher still facing challenges despite UK cheer, broker says

B&Q owner Kingfisher cheered investors with upbeat results but is still facing challenges to turn itself around, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.Kingfisher, which also owns French DIY chains Brico Depot and Castorama, on Wednesday reported flat profits of £364m due to currency translation and said Castorama's chief executive Véronique Laury would replace group chief executive Ian Cheshire before the end of this financial year.It also said the buoyant UK property market had boosted UK sales and its French business was still facing tough markets, although the latter improved in August.Hargreaves said Laury's appointment appeared to reflect the importance of France, with the integration of newly acquired Mr Bricolage, providing its third French home improvement brand, a high priority.It said news of a pick-up in French trading in August was clearly positive, while ongoing management self-help initiatives lifted profits to the upper end of expectations.The broker's Keith Bowman said: "In all, today’s announcements bring some welcome relief for investors, with the share price underperforming the broader FTSE-100 index by nearly 30% over the last year."Nonetheless, the new chief executive faces no easy task – France remains at the centre of the Eurozone’s difficulties, a recent slowing in UK house prices could take the shine of B&Q going forward, while management itself has pointed to a slowing Chinese property market in underpinning falling sales."For now, analyst consensus opinion points to a hold, albeit a strong one, a view which appears unlikely to change."Shares rose 10.1p or 3.3% to 317.3p at 12:31 in London.