FTSE 100 home improvement retailer Kingfisher (LON: KGF) reported a 0.7% fall in first-quarter underlying sales, citing a soft market backdrop across its key European territories.
The group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix in the UK alongside Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, maintained its full-year profit guidance despite the top-line pressure.
Kingfisher attributed part of the quarterly weakness to a late start to spring, which weighed on footfall and dampened demand for seasonal product categories across its store network.
The company said core categories proved resilient during the period, offering some reassurance that underlying consumer appetite for home improvement products had not collapsed entirely.
In the UK, Screwfix delivered a standout performance, posting like-for-like sales growth of 4.1% and gaining market share during the quarter against a challenging retail environment.
B&Q told a different story, with like-for-like sales falling 4.1%, a decline Kingfisher linked to the brand’s higher exposure to seasonal goods such as garden furniture and plants.
The B&Q result also reflected a tough comparative period against last year’s figures, compounding the impact of the delayed spring season on the retailer’s performance.
In France, Kingfisher’s like-for-like sales fell 2.1% in the first quarter, while Poland recorded a more modest decline of 0.2% over the same period.
The broader UK retail backdrop added context to Kingfisher’s results, with official data showing British retail sales fell by their steepest rate in nearly a year during April.
That national decline came as fuel sales dropped sharply, adding to existing signs of softening consumer spending amid the Iran war and rising energy costs affecting household budgets.
Despite the challenging conditions, Kingfisher confirmed it was holding its full-year forecast for adjusted pretax profit in a range of £565 million to £625 million.
That target compares with the £560 million the group delivered in 2025/26, representing a modest improvement at the midpoint of the guided range if achieved.
Ahead of the trading update, analysts had on average forecast full-year adjusted pretax profit of £589 million, placing consensus broadly in the middle of Kingfisher’s stated guidance band.
The decision to hold guidance signals that Kingfisher’s management believes the first-quarter softness reflects temporary seasonal and macroeconomic factors rather than a structural deterioration in demand.