THE owner of Hampshire-based B&Q has seen sales fall compared with “very strong” figures last year.

Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, revealed revenues of £3.25billion for the three months to October 31, following a 2.4 per cent decline in like-for-like sales against the same period last year.

Like-for-like sales in the UK were down 3.5 per cent, weighed down by a decline at Chandlers Ford-headquartered B&Q.

Kingfisher said B&Q had seen “resilient demand” but that sales dropped against “very strong” figures last year, when the Covid crisis saw a DIY boom.

The latest figures were still up 15 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.

Kingfisher said it had seen a “strong start” to the fourth quarter and that it was on track to post adjusted pre-tax profits at the top end of its range of between £910million and £950m for the financial year.

Thierry Garnier, chief executive of Kingfisher, said: “Since the start of this year we have maintained, and in many cases improved, our product availability, which is amongst the best in our industry.

“This has supported our market share gains and allowed us to upweight promotional initiatives in the quarter.

“We have also continued to manage inflation pressures effectively, while retaining highly competitive pricing.”