Kingfisher has seen sales during the first quarter of the year take a hammering from the coronavirus forced closure of its store estate.

The home and DIY giant reported that for the three months to April 30 sales fell 24% to £2.2bn across the UK, Ireland, France and other international businesses.

In the UK and Ireland, Kingfisher saw sales fall 14.7% to £1.09bn, with B&Q sales plummeting 22.1% to £663m. Screwfix on the other hand performed relatively strongly, reporting just a 0.1% sales fall to £432m for the quarter.

However, Kingfisher noted it had begun a phased reopening of stores in both the UK and France in the second half of April and noted improving sales trends as a result, up 2.7% in the first week of May.

The retailer said that since its last update on March 23, more than 95% of stores “are currently either open and/or offering a contactless click-and-collect service”.

The DIY giant also said it had been pleased with its strong ecommerce growth, which saw a fourfold sales increase since mid-March.

In terms of additional liquidity, Kingfisher said it had confirmed eligibility for a Bank of England coronavirus loan, had secured a €600m (£525m) extension from three French banks and added a £250m revolving credit facility.

Chief executive Thierry Garnier said: “Since the Covid-19 crisis started, our priorities have been clear – to provide support to the communities we serve, to fulfil our obligations to colleagues as a responsible employer, to our customers as a retailer of essential goods and to protect our business for the long term.

“Having initially closed our stores in France and the UK, we have rapidly adapted how we operate to meet the essential needs of our customers safely during lockdown. We started by transforming our operations to meet a material increase in online transactions through our click-and-collect and home-delivery services.

“We reconfigured our retail space and processes, allowing a phased and safe reopening of stores while preserving the social distancing and other health and safety protocols that are likely to be with us for some time. In addition, we have donated over £1m of PPE to frontline health workers, with more on the way.“

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