B&Q owner misses earnings estimates

Kingfisher, Europe's largest home- improvement retailer, reported third-quarter earnings that missed estimates as sales fell at French home-improvement chain Castorama.

So-called retail profit declined 6.6 per cent to £223 million, the London-based company said in a statement Tuesday.

B&Q UK & Ireland’s sales advanced by 1.2 per cent, with sales of outdoor seasonal and building products up 6.3 per cent.

Same-store sales at Castorama eased 0.2 per cent, missing estimates for a 1 percent increase. "Trading conditions have followed a similar trend to the first half of the year, reflecting the more encouraging macroeconomic backdrop in the UK offset by a softer market in France," chief executive Veronique Laury said in the statement.

Since taking the helm in December, Laury has set about closing BandQ stores in Britain, while preparing to sell more of the same products across the group’s international businesses. Investors will have to wait until a capital markets day in January to learn the extent to which Laury expects her changes to improve profits, which fell last year.

Bloomberg