B& Q OWNER’S PROFITS SOAR BY 62%

THE owner of B& Q has started the second half of the year “with a bang”, analysts said, as Kingfisher reported only a small hit from the Covid- 19 pandemic.

Sales were down by 1.3 per cent in the first six months of the year, Kingfisher said, but pre- tax profit grew by 62 per cent to £ 398million. Most of its revenue hit came in the

first quarter of the year, and the business has recovered well, even reaching doubledigit growth in the third quarter. “Trading into the second half has started with a bang,” said James Grzinic, an analyst at Jefferies.

Chief executive Thierry Garnier said people had rediscovered their homes during lockdown.

DEMAND: B& Q said people rediscovered their homes in lockdown