B&Q and Screwfix had a good start to the second half of the year, with a resilient demand across all markets, according to the owner.
Despite upgrading its sales outlook, Kingfisher Plc’s performance appears to be lower than last year but above 2019 levels.
A 3.7% drop in like-for-like sales is expected in the second half which is not as bad as the 5-15% decline it had formerly indicated but still an increase of 9-13% compared to two years earlier, the home improvement retailer said.
Full-year adjusted pre-tax profit will be £910-950mln, up from £786mln recorded last year and £544mln from 2019.
B&Q and Screwfix had a good start to the second half of the year, with a sturdy demand over all markets, said the owner.
In the third quarter to 18 September, like-for-like sales declined 0.6% and were up 16.1% compared to the same months in 2019.
Sales soared 20% to £7.1 billion, in the six months that ended on July 31, with adjusted pre-tax profit surging by 62% to £669mln.
Net debt dropped by 34% to reach £908mln while the FTSE 100 group raised the interim profits by 38% to 3.8p.
