Kingfisher raises guidance as Q1 sales soar 60%

Kingfisher has increased its profit forecast for the year after total sales for the first quarter of 2021 came to £3.44bn, resulting in a 60% year-on-year increase.

The B&Q parent company saw like-for-like sales grow by 64.2% over the period compared to last year and posted a 22.5% rise when compared to the same quarter in 2019.

In the UK and Ireland, Kingfisher reported a first quarter sales year-on-year rise of 66.8% to £1.82bn, with like-for-like sales growing by 65% in the past year.

Furthermore, quarterly sales in France soared to £1.17bn, representing a 97.4% year-on-year growth, which reportedly “emphasises the universal strong performance of DIY brands during the Covid-19 pandemic”.

On the group’s trading performance, Thierry Garnier, Kingfisher’s chief executive officer, said: “I am extremely grateful to all our colleagues for their continuous hard work and flexibility, enabling our banners to remain trading safely during these difficult times.

“The group delivered strong sales growth in the first quarter, with LFL sales up 64% and up
by 23% on a two-year basis. This is a testament to the efforts of our colleagues, the skill and
professionalism of our supply chain teams, and the responsiveness in managing daily
changes within all our store operations.”

He added: “We continue to see high levels of demand from both new and existing customers, with clear progress made on our ‘Powered by Kingfisher’ strategic priorities, especially in four key areas.

“E-commerce continues to be our fastest-growing channel with two-year growth of
over 250%, now accounting for 21% of group sales. During the quarter we established a new agile operating model for our technology and digital teams, and further strengthened these teams with multiple new hires.”