Kingfisher: shares fall after lackluster trading update

(CercleFinance.com) - Kingfisher posted a 3.
4% rise in its second-quarter sales on Thursday, at 3.25 billion pounds.

Europe's biggest home improvements retailer said sales at stores open for at least a year rose 1.6% in the quarter to 31 July.

"Second-quarter like-for-like growth was a small beat but there was a warning on first-half gross margin and opex in France," one tader noted.

"The performance of Castorama France has been more difficult and as a result we have put additional actions in place to support our full year performance in France with the benefits expected to come through in second-half," said CEO Véronique Laury.

Kingfisher said it will provide a more detailed update when it unveils interim results in September.

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