Screwfix is targeting 60 new store openings by the end of the financial year in the UK and Ireland, despite its parent company Kingfisher lowering its profit guidance for the 2023/24 financial year.

The DIY retailer opened 12 new stores in the first six months of the year in the UK and Ireland, and is also eyeing further expansion into Europe.

Kingfisher had also revealed that B&Q has expanded its trade-focused banner, TradePoint. The retailer opened 18 new counters in the first half of the year, extending its presence within B&Q’s estate to 207, over two-thirds of stores.

This comes despite Kingfisher lowering its pre-tax profit guidance for the year from a previous estimation of £634m to £590m.

During the first half of 2023, the group’s statutory pre-tax profit fell by 33.1% to £317 million.

Despite an increase in like-for-like (LFL) sales in the UK and Ireland of 1.7%, the group saw poorer European performance in France and Poland, where LFL sales fell by 3.8% and 10.9% respectively.

The group’s total sales increased by 1.1% to £6.88bn.

Thierry Garnier, chief executive officer, said: “Our LFL sales in H1 were slightly ahead of expectations, against a backdrop of unseasonal weather and ongoing macroeconomic challenges in our markets. We saw good growth in our UK banners, with Screwfix gaining significant market share.”

“Trading in the UK & Ireland continues to have positive momentum. However, to better reflect our performance in H1 and the trading environment in our markets, we have updated our profit guidance for this year and are proactively managing our operating costs accordingly. We remain very positive on the medium-to-long term outlook for home improvement growth in our markets, and confident in our ability to grow market share and deliver on our medium-term financial objectives”, he added.

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