DIY retailer Kingfisher says wet weather in UK, France hits sales

LONDON (Reuters) -British home improvement retailer Kingfisher blamed wet weather for lower sales of items like garden furniture and barbecues in Britain and France, but said improving trends in April gave it confidence it would meet forecasts.

Sales for the three months to the end of April came in at 3.3 billion pounds ($4.16 billion), down 3.3% on a like-for-like basis. Kingfisher said seasonal categories, that is those affected by weather, were 11% lower in the period.

"We have however seen an improvement in trading since early April, and anticipate a release of some pent-up demand as the weather continues to improve," Chief executive Thierry Garnier said in a statement on Wednesday.

Kingfisher, which owns B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France, said it was comfortable with market expectations for its full-year adjusted pretax profit to come in at 634 million pounds, representing a 16% fall on last year's result.

The group's profits soared during the pandemic when people stuck at home with few leisure options and unable to travel spent more money on products for their homes and home improvement projects.

But since 2022, high inflation and big energy bills plus rising interest rates have put a squeeze on consumer spending across its UK and European markets.

Kingfisher said it expected to see lower cost inflation in the second half of this year as raw material prices and freight costs ease.

($1 = 0.7923 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young in London and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Kate Holton)