B&Q owner Kingfisher (LON: KGF) has posted a 1.6 percent growth in like-for-like sales during the second quarter.
The company said the growth in sales was helped by the warmer weather. Sales in the first quarter fell by four percent during the wet and snowy weather across Europe.
“In the second quarter, I’m pleased that we grew our sales after the exceptionally harsh weather conditions in the first quarter,” said Veronique Laury, the group’s chief executive.
“In B&Q, Screwfix and Brico Depot France we delivered good sales growth. However, the performance of Castorama France has been more difficult and as a result, we have put additional actions in place to support our full-year performance in France, with the benefits expected to come through in [the second half of the financial year,” she added.
Group sales increased by 3.4 percent to £3.26 billion, increasing from £3.15 billion a year earlier.
Sales in France, however, were down by one percent during the same quarter.
Neil Wilson, the chief analyst at Markets.com, said: “Unusually warm summer lifted sales at Kingfisher in the second quarter, but we still see continued weakness in France that is dragging on the group performance.”
“After the Beast from the East took a nasty chunk out of [first-quarter] sales, this is a welcome return to like-for-like growth. Sometimes retailers can blame it on the weather and in the first half, Kingfisher has had both the good and the bad.”
“However, France remains a weakness, with like-for-like sales there falling one percent as weaker footfall and the transformation activity at Castorama hit sales,” he added.
Shares in the group fell four percent to 277p in early trading. Kingfisher said that it expects gross margins to increase in the full year.