B&Q owner Kingfisher profit nosedives 30 per cent amid economic gloom
B&Q owner Kingfisher posted slumped profit in half-year results, with bosses citing an “exceptionally strong” comparable period last year.
Operating profit was down 29.1 per cent, the DIY retailer highlighted, in results for the six months ended 31 July.
Depleted sales came against a “backdrop of exceptionally strong” trading in the first-half of 2021, Thierry Garnier, chief executive officer, said on Tuesday morning.
Shoppers flocked to DIY stores amid Covid-19 lockdowns, with the pandemic sparking a flurry of home improvement trends.
Like-for-like sales were down 4.1 per cent, to £6,809m, with results “fully in line with expectations,” Garnier said.
However, it said it had seen “continued resilience” in outdoor and ‘big-ticket’ category sales trends, despite consumers facing inflationary pressures.
In a statement, Kingfisher said it would “remain vigilant against the more uncertain economic outlook for the second half.”
Customers had been keen to buy energy efficiency products, CEO Garnier told CityA.M., with insulation sales up 110 per cent over the past three weeks compared to 2019.
Kingfisher would continue to lobby UK ministers on energy efficiency support, he added.
Garnier told reporters that he hoped to see more support for customers announced when Liz Truss sets out an emergency budget on Friday, with the “first priority” being those on low incomes.