Kingfisher, Europe's number one home improvements retailer, today posted a 6% fall in third-quarter profit.
It said it was hit by a fall in sales in its main markets in France and the UK as well as unfavourable foreign exchange movements.
The group, which runs B&Q in Ireland and the UK as well as Castorama and Brico Depot in France and elsewhere said it made a retail profit of £257m sterling in the 13 weeks to October 27.
That compared to an analysts' average forecast of £255m and £273m the same time last year.
Total sales fell 3.9% to £2.71 billion, with sales at stores open over a year down 2.8% on a constant currency basis.
Like-for-like sales fell 2.8% in France and were down 3.8% in the UK and Ireland. But they only fell 0.8% in Kingfisher's 'other international' division, which includes stores in Poland, China, Spain and Russia.
The company said its retail profit was adversely impacted by £16m due to translating euro and Polish zloty overseas profits into sterling.
"Our markets remain challenging, with consumer confidence still weak and so we maintain our strong focus on margin, costs and cash," the company's chief executive Ian Cheshire said.
Many retailers are suffering in Europe as disposable incomes are squeezed by inflation, muted wages growth and austerity measures, and as shoppers fret over the implications of the euro zone debt crisis. A continuing low level of housing transactions is also bad news for home improvement firms like Kingfisher.
Kingfisher is the world's number three home improvements retailer behind US groups Lowe's and Home Depot, with about 1,000 stores in eight countries in Asia and Europe. It ended the period with net cash of £222m.
The firm has tried to offset weak demand in many markets with a drive to improve profitability by buying more goods centrally, and directly, from cheaper manufacturing centres such as China.
