UK and Poland offset soft sales in France for Screwfix owner

Screwfix has spearheaded Kingfisher's quarter three 2016 results, up 23.1% in Q3 2016.

Kingfisher, which also owns B&Q in the UK and Castorama and Brico Depot in France, saw an overall like-for-like sales performance up 1.8%. The UK and Poland drove sales for the group - sales in Poland were up a whopping 26.7% in Q3 2016, compared like-for-like with Q3 2015.

UK & Ireland sales were up 2.5% (l-f-l 5.8%). B&Q's store closure programme impacted on sales, which were down 3.6% for the brand. 59 of the 65 planned closures have now taken place, with seven in Q3. Screwfix's sales growth of 23.1% was boosted by 11 new outlets.

France's total sales were down 2.6% (l-f-l 3.6%). Poland sales were up 26.7% (9.5% total change constant currency).

Russia saw sales up 18.9% (1% l-f-l change constant currency) and Spain sales rose 19.4% (1.3% l-f-l change constant currency) for Kingfisher.

“Q3 trading conditions have followed a similar trend to the first half," said CEO Véronique Laury.

"We have delivered another solid sales performance overall, trading in line with expectations. Sales have been driven by Poland and the UK, especially Screwfix, offset by softer sales in France.

“We continue to make good progress on our strategic milestones in the first year of our five year ONE Kingfisher transformation, and remain on track. In addition, we are gearing up for next year when the level of transformation activity will significantly increase. We remain confident in our ability to deliver our ambitious plan, based on always putting customer needs first, supported by the expertise and energy of our colleagues.”