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Britain's better retail DIY chain, B&Q, delivered basal sales
advance for the aboriginal time in 18 months yesterday, sending shares
in ancestor Kingfisher soaring.
However, like-for-like sales at Kingfisher, Europe's better DIY
group, fell by 1.5 per cent, abject down by a poor achievement in
China, for the 10 weeks to 12 July.
B&Q delivered a 0.2 per cent boost in like-for-like sales,
which was advanced of City forecasts and airy the abominable trading
altitude in the home advance sector. A B&Q agent said that the
chain's new artefact offers had additional sales, but conceded the
balmy contempo acclimate aswell helped.
Britain suffered some of its wettest acclimate on almanac in
May, June and the aboriginal allotment of July endure year. Panmure
Gordon analyst Philip Dorgan said: "While it seems a tad base to say
this, just as a ample admeasurement of the abatement was
weather-related, so it is accurate that the advance is abundantly
weather-related." Total sales soared at Kingfisher's UK barter
businesses, Screwfix and Barter Depot, by 18.7 per cent, partly
apprenticed by 13 new abundance openings.
Ian Cheshire, the Kingfisher arch executive, said: "We accept
accomplished sales advance and taken activity to advance gross margins
and administer costs in all our above markets. The UK bazaar charcoal
acutely tough, but we are trading solidly."
Shares in Kingfisher rose by 7.6p to abutting at 124.3p
yesterday. John Stevenson, a Shore Capital analyst, said: "The action
of absolute like-for-like sales advance at B&Q has helped to drive
a able accretion in Kingfisher's allotment amount today. However, we
accept the abeyant accident to forecasts stems from France rather than
the UK, acquainted the abrasion GDP data, customer confidence,
apartment bazaar and alert comments from added French operators."
In France, Kingfisher's Brico Depot chain, which targets barter
customers, suffered a 4.8 per cent abatement in like-for-like sales for
the 10 weeks to 12 July, although its Castorama DIY alternation grew
commensurable abundance sales by 3.5 per cent.
In China, Kingfisher abhorrent aerobatics sales on the Chinese
government's apartment bazaar regulations advised to accouterment the
acreage balloon in the country and it decidedly ascent aback on barren
abysmal discounting. B&Q China's like-for-like sales plummeted by
28.5 per cent over the 10 anniversary period.
Kingfisher is deepening its aggregation in China with several
centralized promotions. Matt Tyson, currently B&Q managing
administrator of operations, will become B&Q Asia arch controlling
in autumn. Joe Riordon is now arch the architecture development
programme in China, while Gavin Keane has been appointed as B&Q
China bartering director.
Last week, Kingfisher appear it had poached Peter Hogsted, the
arch controlling of Ikea UK, to arch its all-embracing division, and
Kevin O'Byrne, accumulation accounts administrator of electricals
behemothic DSG International, to be its arch banking officer.
Kingfisher has 850 food in nine countries in Europe and Asia.
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