Home improvement giant Kingfisher has said its profits are set to reach the “upper end” of targets after it was buoyed by strong UK trading for B&Q and Somerset-based Screwfix.

The retail group said it saw another increase in demand for big ticket items, as it benefited from “favourable weather” and the closure of rival Homebase stores.

It reported that total sales grew by 0.8% to £6.81bn for the six months to July 31, compared with a year earlier, as like-for-like sales rose 1.9%.

Meanwhile, pre-tax profits grew by 4.1% to £338m for the half-year.

Thierry Garnier, chief executive officer of Kingfisher, said: “We delivered a strong first half with high quality underlying like-for-like sales growth of 1.9%, driven by increased volumes and transactions.

“We were encouraged by underlying

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