Kingfisher, Europe's biggest DIY retailer, expects its full-year profit to be slightly ahead of forecasts, as cost-cutting measures offset a hit from recent bad weather.
The group, which runs B&Q in Britain and Castorama in France, said sales at stores open at least a year fell 3% in the three months to January 31, the fourth quarter of its financial year.
That included a 3.5% decline at B&Q and a fall of 4.6% at French chains Castorama and Brico Depot.
But the group said its profit margins were 'up strongly' at B&Q as the group continued to implement a range of business improvement measures that include more direct purchasing of goods from Asia and more common purchasing of products by its different chains.
Analysts had expected Kingfisher, which runs over 830 stores in eight countries, to report profit before tax and one-off items of £540m for the year ended January 31, up from £368m the year before.
