Wet weather makes April a washout for B&Q as sales plummet
Sales at the DIY superstore B&Q slumped in April as the wet weather left few people with good reason to buy outdoor furniture or start ambitious plans for the garden.
In the past three months, like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland fell by 10.4 per cent
Sales in France were down by a less damaging 1.8 per cent, but the euro's weakness saw Kingfisher take a £5m hit to convert the profits into pounds.
Kingfisher, with about 950 stores in eight countries in Europe and Asia, said overall profits fell by 8.6 per cent to £160m in the three months to 30 April.
Even excluding the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, sales at stores open over a year fell 4.8 per cent year on year. The biggest drag was in the UK and Ireland.
The drop in the UK and Ireland compares with a fourth-quarter decline of 2.5 per cent and analysts' expectations of a fall of 10 per cent.
First-quarter, like-for-like sales at Castorama France dipped 0.8 per cent and were up 2.4 per cent at Brico Depot France stores.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies