Kingfisher has tightened its full-year profit guidance after the home and DIY retailer reported a “flat” sales period in Q3.

The owner of B&Q and Screwfix said it now expects to post an adjusted pre-tax profit between £510m to £540m, which is a smaller range than the previous guidance of between £510m and £550m.

Kingfisher’s group sales in Q3, which covered the three months to 31 October, fell by 0.6% to total £3.2bn.

The group said it had overseen “solid underlying trading” in August and September, but “weak” market and consumer demand in the UK and France in October, which was impacted by uncertainty related to Government budgets in both countries.

“Improved performance in August and September was offset by the impact of increased consumer uncertainty in the UK and France in October, related to Government budgets in both countries,” Kingfisher CEO, Thierry Garnier, said.

“Looking towards next year, recent political and macroeconomic developments have layered incremental uncertainty onto the near-term outlook in our markets.

“We continue to focus our energy on what we can control – delivering further market share gains through our key strategic priorities, and managing our retail prices, costs and cash effectively. As a group, we are strongly positioned to benefit from the inflection to come within home improvement.”

However, AJ Bell investment director, Russ Mould, noted that Kingfisher was facing “significant headwinds” from various tax changes.

“There is only so much these can be offset by finding new cost efficiencies,” Mould warned. “Companies have spent the past few years focusing on operating improvements and it’s hard to keep finding new ways to save money without cutting back too far and damaging service levels.”

Mould also commented that Kingfisher remains in a club of companies which “prospered during the pandemic but have struggled ever since”.

“A plan is in place to drive greater sales to trade customers, do more via e-commerce, and roll out more compact stores,” he added. “This plan will only work if homeowners are ready and able to splash the cash on home improvement projects, supported by a strong economy which makes people feel secure in their jobs and happy to shell out money.

“Consumer sentiment remains patchy and economic growth lacklustre, which suggests darker days ahead for Kingfisher.”

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