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Investing.com -- Kingfisher (LON:KGF) reported a 2.2% rise in Q1 group sales in constant currency to £3.3 billion, driven by strength in the U.K. and Ireland.
Like-for-like (LFL) sales increased 1.8%, beating consensus estimates for 0.7% growth, while underlying sales growth, adjusted for calendar effects, reached 2.7%. Growth was underpinned by strong performance in seasonal categories and continued expansion in e-commerce and trade channels, the company said.
The company’s shares still fell around 2.5% after the report.
The LFL sales beat was supported by stronger-than-expected performance in the U.K., which rose 5.9% versus the consensus of 0.8%, and a smaller-than-feared decline in France at -3.2% compared to expectations of -3.9%.
This helped offset weakness in Poland, which fell 3.2% against a forecast of 0.3% growth and continues to experience "short-term volatility due to geopolitical factors."
In the U.K. and Ireland, total sales rose 6.1%, with B&Q up 7.4% and Screwfix up 4.1%. Gains were supported by favorable weather, high demand in seasonal ranges, and further market share gains. The conversion of eight former Homebase stores into B&Q locations is on track, and TradePoint also reported strong results.
French sales declined 4.9%, reflecting a weaker market. However, both Castorama and Brico Dépôt showed sequential improvements. In Poland, sales slipped 0.4% as geopolitical factors weighed on consumer demand. Iberia delivered 7% growth, while Romania was down 4.4%.
E-commerce sales grew 9.3% year-on-year, accounting for 20% of group sales. Trade sales penetration rose to 17%, up from 13% a year earlier.
Kingfisher reaffirmed its full-year guidance, maintaining expectations for adjusted profit before tax between £480 million and £540 million, and free cash flow between £420 million and £480 million.
"A better-than-expected update from KGF with the U.K. outperforming by c.+5% LFL versus sell-side consensus, albeit we note the clear weather boost, and a lack of a current trading figure and FY upgrade may disappoint," Jefferies analysts led by Grace Gilber commented.
CEO Thierry Garnier said the company made “a good start to the year with underlying sales growth of 3.1%,” highlighting strong execution in the U.K. and further progress in strategic priorities. He noted that France showed improvement despite market headwinds and described performance in Poland as affected by temporary external factors.
“It is still early in the year and consumer sentiment remains mixed,” Garnier added. “We are confident in delivering our full year guidance.”
Regarding tariffs, Kingfisher said it expects minimal direct impact from potential changes in cross-border tariffs, noting it has no U.S. sales or operations.
"We source most of our products in Europe from the same country in which those products are then sold. We also source 20-25% of our products from Asia. We therefore expect little direct impact from any potential changes in cross border tariffs but remain watchful of any broader impact on both inflation and market demand," Kingfisher stated.
The company also noted that some of the seasonal growth "is likely to have been pulled forward from Q2".
"For these two reasons, we fade most of the sales beat, as the underlying core/big ticket trends ex calendar were broadly in line with our expectations," Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analysts said.
They lifted their full-year profit before tax (PBT) estimates and the price target to 252 pounds from 246 pounds.