City desk.

PROFITS at the owner of DIY chain B&Q were hammered in the first half of the year, falling 12.5 per cent to £245million.

Kingfisher blamed Brexit uncertainty for making customers wary of spending. Sales in the UK and Ireland fell 0.7 per cent, with a 5.1 per cent rise in its Screwfix chain, but there was a 3.2 per cent drop at B&Q.

Kingfisher’s businesses in France continue to weigh it down, dropping 4.4 per cent in the period. Chief executive Veronique Laury hands over to new boss Thierry Garnier on September 25. LLOYD’S of London has notched up a £2.3billion halfyear profit haul – as it ploughs on with a revamp of the under-fire culture across the insurance market.

The group’s earnings rose nearly four-fold in the six months to June 30 thanks to investment gains and cuts to loss-making businesses.

Its figures come just a week before it is due to unveil the results of its most thorough workplace survey on September 24, which chairman Bruce CarnegieBrown has already warned will be “sobering”. ENERGY gel maker Science in Sport has seen sales soar 150 per cent after muscling in on the body-building market.

SiS, whose products are used by top athletes from swimmer Adam Peaty to Tour de France winner Egan Bernal’s cycling team, saw half-year sales rise to almost £25million following its takeover of PhD Nutrition, whose protein products are popular with gym goers.

Losses narrowed to £2.7million, with the firm’s stockbroker, Liberum, predicting a full-year profit of £300,000 – its first since 2016.