LONDON — Kingfisher, Europe’s largest home-improvement company, plans to test a smaller-sized Castorama store while expanding in Russia in a bid to use overseas growth to drive profit. Kingfisher will open the new-format store in Moscow and increase the number of outlets in the country from nine to 20 by the end of 2011, Peter Hogsted, the London-based retailer’s international director, said Friday.

Hogsted said Russia has the market potential to “be the next Poland,” where sales climbed 19 percent to £1 billion ($1.6 billion) last year. “If they feel the market could be a similar story to Poland, it has to be encouraging because that’s been a success so far,” said Rod Whitehead, an analyst at Deutsche Bank with a ‘buy’ recommendation on the company.

The smaller store being tested will have about 60 percent of the retail space of the chain’s normal outlets, with a full range of products, but less stock. If successful, the new format may be used in other countries, particularly in Poland where planning restrictions hinder expansion, he said.

Hogsted said the retailer will concentrate on expanding in Russia, Poland and Turkey following the addition of seven stores in Poland this year. The company is looking for growth overseas after sales in Britain fell 2.6 percent to £4.3 billion last fiscal year. Russia has a £16 billion home-improvement market, Kingfisher said.

Castorama’s nine Russian stores compete with Germany’s Tengelmann Group, which owns 14 Obi stores, and French chain Leroy Merlin’s 10 outlets. Independents account for about 80 percent of the market. Kingfisher will “break even” in terms of profit in Russia this year, Hogsted added.

The division generated £150 million in revenue last year, while same-store sales rose 6.7 percent in May. The Russian stores will be concentrated in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Urals and in the south.

Operations Director Robert Johnstone said the Pulkovo store in St. Petersburg cost $20 million to build. The new-format stores will be about 6,000 square meters, compared with the usual 10,000 square-meter outlets, Kingfisher said. The first store will open in Moscow next year.

“It gives them more flexibility in terms of looking for a big-box outlet and it could potentially really help lift profits,” said Tony Shiret, an analyst for Credit Suisse. Shiret has an “outperform” recommendation on Kingfisher shares.