Sales of fence panels and water pumps in the wake of the Saint Jude storm helped performance at B&Q owner Kingfisher, which revealed a 4.6% rise in sales in the quarter to 2 November.

Fence panel sales rose 41% while water pumps rose 63% in the week after high winds hit Britain last month, helping to maintain growth in underlying sales at B&Q despite the ongoing squeeze on disposable incomes.(Wire Display)

But shares in Kingfisher slid 4.4% to 378.5p as profits came in at the low end of City expectations at £271m – a rise of 5.8% – while chief executive Ian Cheshire warned of tough trading conditions in France, Kingfisher's most profitable territory.

"Consumer confidence is still weak and with no obvious signs of an imminent improvement," he said.

Underlying sales in France were flat and profits down 5.6% once currency fluctuations were accounted for, amid heavy discounting among DIY retailers as the country's housing market continued to contract.(Bag Stand Rack)

Analysts were concerned that B&Q's underlying sales were virtually flat, at 0.4%, as sales of DIY products continued to suffer despite signs of a pick-up in the UK housing market.

Cheshire said DIY was suffering because shoppers still had little spare cash as inflation continued to outstrip wage rises(Sock Display). He said sales to tradesmen were performing better because "white van man" was benefiting from a boom in construction thanks to the Help to Buy scheme.

But he said DIY sales were more reliant on a strong market for older houses, and that had yet to see real growth.

However, strong profits in other overseas markets(Supermarket Display), particularly Poland and Russia, as well as impressive growth at Kingfisher's multi-channel business Screwfix, helped lift total group profits by 1.7% at constant currency rates and 5.8% overall to £271m for the quarter.