LONDON (Reuters) - Kingfisher (L:KGF), Europe's No. 1 home improvement retailer, posted a 20 percent surge in first quarter retail profit and said it would pay a 100 million pound special dividend as part of its new plans for extra shareholder rewards.
The group, which runs market leader B&Q in Britain and trades as Castorama and Brico Depot in France, said on Thursday retail profit for the 13 weeks to May 3 rose to 142 million pounds, just below a company compiled consensus forecast of 145 million pounds.
Boosted by much better weather than in the same period a year ago, group sales at stores open over a year rose 6.1 percent, including growth of 1.6 rise in France and 10.1 percent in the UK and Ireland.
(Reporting by Neil Maidment; editing by Kate Holton)