DIY giant Kingfisher's growth slowed down

British DIY giant Kingfisher will have mixed feelings about its second quarter: its British subsidiaries performed very well, while the French chains’ turnover dropped.

3 billion pound quarterly turnover

Kingfisher’s group second quarter turnover reached 3.026 billion pounds (3.52 billion euro), up 3 % on a like-for-like basis at level exchange rates. Those numbers are a slight drop compared to the first quarter, when growth reached + 3.6 %.

CEO Véronique Laury called it a “solid sales performance”, despite the “uncertainty for the economic outlook” because of the Brexit “although there has been no clear evidence of an impact on demand so far on our businesses.”

Mainland dip

The highly different performances across both sides of the Channel are remarkable: B&Q and Screwfix‘s like-for-like turnover grew 7.2 % (with level exchange rates) in the past three months in the UK and Ireland. That is up 1 % compared to the first quarter. On the other hand, Castorama and Brico Dépôt‘s turnover dropped 3.2 %, the consequence of a “hot” social spring and France’s bad weather.

Kingfisher’s Polish performance is still exceptional (+ 7.3 %), even though the growth pace has slowed, down from 10.8 % in the first quarter.

Alongside its quarterly results, Kingfisher reports it has sold its remaining 30 % stake in B&Q China, receiving 63 million pounds (73 million euro) in cash.