Weak French market pulls down Kingfisher Q3

LONDON — Kingfisher PLC, which operates the Castorama and Brico Depot banners in France and Britain’s B&Q and Screwfix chains, saw profits fall 7% to £223 million, against an average forecast of £234 million. Strong performance in Britain was offset by the more troubled French market. Earnings were also affected by £17 million in adverse foreign currency movement. Sales at stores in France open more than one year rose 0.1%, rather than the predicted 0.5%, while like-for-like sales in the UK rose 4.6%, beating a consensus forecast of 3.7%. Screwfix saw the strongest gains with like-for-like sales increasing by 13.3%.