Solid start to 2016 for Kingfisher

Kingfisher has reported a “solid start” in the first quarter of 2016, with sales of £2.7 billion, which were in line with expectations.

Like-for-like sales increased 3.6% in Q1, which was mainly driven by the UK and Poland.

The UK and Ireland saw sales increase like for like by 6.2% to £1.2bn. This was mainly driven by Screwfix, which reported a 16.2% growth in sales (LFL) to £301m. Whereas B&Q experienced a 3.6% increase (LFL) in sales to £951 million.

B&Q closed a further 10 stores as part of its planned closure of 15% of its surplus space and so, on a non-like-for-like basis, saw sales drop by 4.2%. This takes the total number of closures to 40 out of the intended 65.

Among its operational “milestones”, Kingfisher cited a unified IT platform in all B&Q stores ahead of plans, with back office and supply chain under way.

“We have made a solid start to the year, trading in line with expectations,” said Kingfisher chief executive officer Véronique Laury. “In addition, I am pleased with the early progress we are making on our operational milestones for this year, the first year of our ambitious five-year plan. We continue to feel confident in our ability to deliver our plan, based on putting customer needs first, supported by the expertise and enthusiasm of our colleagues.”

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