The owner of B&Q and Screwfix has announced £6.8bn sales for its first half.

Kingfisher Plc saw like-for-like sales growth of 1.9% for the six months to July 31.

Like-for-like sales at B&Q in the UK, which has stores in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Stroud, rose by 4.4%. Like-for-like sales at Screwfix in the UK, which has stores in Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, Gloucester, Tetbury and Tewkesbury, were up by 3%.

Trade sales across the group rose 11.9% and e-commerce sales were up by 11.1%.

Adjusted pre-tax profit rose 10.2% from £334m last year to £368m this year.

And the business continued to gain market share in the UK, France and Spain.

Kingfisher saw a third consecutive quarter of big-ticket underlying growth, with strong weather-related seasonal performance led by the UK.

Thierry Garnier, chief executive officer, said: "We delivered a strong first half with high quality underlying like-for-like sales growth of 1.9%, driven by increased volumes and transactions. Our teams continue to execute at a high level, delivering double-digit growth in our strategic initiatives, trade and e-commerce, which supported our market share gains.

"In a higher cost environment, we remain disciplined on managing costs and cash.

"Our expectations for our markets for the year remain consistent with what we outlined in March, whilst mindful of mixed consumer sentiment and political uncertainty. Combined with our H1 performance, this gives us the confidence to upgrade our full year profit guidance."

Kingfisher now expect to deliver full year adjusted pre-tax profit at the upper end of its previously quoted forecast of £480m to £540m.

It said this reflects its strong profit performance in the first half, alongside second half weighted investment in marketing and technology to support strategic growth initiatives.