B&Q reports smaller drop in sales than expected

KINGFISHER Plc, Europe’s largest home-improvement retailer, reported a smaller drop in sales at its B&Q shops than analysts had anticipated and said it expects revenue to improve in the year’s final quarter.

Third-quarter sales at Irish and British stores open at least a year fell 4.2% from the same period a year earlier, when discounts to clear inventory boosted sales, the London-based company said yesterday.

That was ahead of a company-compiled consensus estimate of a 7% decline.