Kingfisher Needs to Shine Even Without the Sun

It's one step forward, two steps back for European home-improvement group Kingfisher Plc. That's not enough progress to banish the possibility of a break-up. Sales of paddling pools to plants amid the U.K.'s heatwave helped Kingfisher's B&Q chain lift same store-sales by a better than expected 3.6 percent in the three months to July 31. The core Castorama chain was hit by disruption from Chief Executive Officer Veronique Laury's efforts to buy more products centrally and upgrade information technology systems.