Kingfisher Group saw shares fall in early trading on Tuesday, despite strong growth across the UK and Ireland and Poland.
Kingfisher, who owns hardware firms Screwfix and B&Q, saw group sales rise 1.8 percent in the UK and Ireland over the third quarter, led by a 12.7 percent sales boost at Screwfix.
Like-for-like sales also rose 6.7 percent in Poland. In a statement, the company said were continuing to make progress on their ‘One Kingfisher’ five-year transformational plan.
However, shares prices dropped as investors noted a slowdown in growth. In September, Kingfisher reported a 6.8 percent rise in revenues and a 13.5 percent hike in pre-tax profit, which was not matched by Tuesday’s results.
CEO Veronique Laury said the company was making good progress with its five-year transformation plan.
She added: “Q3 trading conditions have followed a similar trend to the first half. We have delivered another solid sales performance overall, trading in line with expectations.
In France, where the group owns Castorama and Brico Depot, revenues disappointed and fell 3.6 percent. Laury added that 2017 would see a strong period of transformation for the group.
“We are gearing up for next year when the level of transformation activity will significantly increase. We remain confident in our ability to deliver our ambitious plan, based on always putting customer needs first, supported by the expertise and energy of our colleagues.”
Kingfisher (LON:KGF) shares fell 1.41 percent to 364.50 (0832GMT).