Kingfisher has said it anticipates first half sales and pre-tax profit to be ahead of previous expectations following strong performance in the quarter to date.

The DIY retailer, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, predicts adjusted pre-tax profit in the first half of its fiscal year to be between £645 million and £660 million.

This exceeds previous predictions of between £580 million and £600 million.

In the second quarter sales were up 22.3 per cent like-for-like compared to the same period two-years ago.

E-commerce sales growth surged by 188 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

“Kingfisher’s performance in the second quarter to date has been ahead of expectations, with positive progress against our strategic priorities continuing to drive share growth in our key markets,” said Thierry Garnier, chief executive, Kingfisher. “With very strong comparatives from the previous year, we are pleased to see growth being delivered on a two-year basis across all categories and channels, with e-commerce sales in particular nearly three times higher than the same period in 2019.”

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