Home improvements retailer Kingfisher reported a 0.8 per cent fall in third-quarter profits but said UK consumer demand would likely soften further in coming months.
Kingfisher, which owns B&Q and France's Castorama, said retail profit was $171.7 million for the three months to November 3rd, down from £173 million the year before, on revenue up 7.4 per cent at £2.41 billion.
The retailer had been expected to report profits of around £168.1 million according to forecasts.
Group like-for-like sales rose 1.9 per cent in the quarter, down from growth of 4.3 per cent in the first half. Like-for-like sales at B&Q slipped by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, from growth of 2.0 per cent in the first half.
When reporting a 6.2 per cent increase in first-half adjusted pretax profit of £189.6 million in September, the retailer warned that it expected the second half to be tough in the United Kingdom.
Britain's home improvement retailers are battling a slowdown in consumer spending on big-ticket items like bathrooms and garden furniture and a drop in housing transactions following a series of interest rate rises.