Kingfisher earnings up

Kingfisher, a DIY retail group, has reported sales of £ 5.454 bn in the first 26 weeks of the current financial year (to 31 July 2010), which represents a slight fall of 0.9 per cent. This amounts to a fall of 0.1 per cent in constant currency, or 1.3 per cent down in like-for-like terms. Pre-tax profit saw an increase of 21.9 per cent to £ 351 mio. Sales of £ 2.328 bn generated by the B&Q and Screwfix brands in the UK and Ireland were 2.9 per cent down, or 3.7 per cent like-for-like. Overall sales in France increased by 2.9 per cent to £ 2.185 bn; Castorama reported an increase of 4.1 per cent (2.6 per cent like-for-like), and Brico Dépôt a rise of 1.4 per cent (-0.2 per cent like-for-like). The group’s Polish outlets recorded a sales figure of £ 524 mio, or a decline of 2.8 per cent. This contrasts with an increase of 37.5 per cent to £ 111 mio in Russia. Growth of 19.6 per cent to £ 119 mio was notched up in Spain. The fact that Kingfisher has seven fewer stores operating in China than during the comparable period was reflected in a sales decline of 13.2 per cent to £ 187 mio, though a plus of 10.4 per cent was achieved in like-for-like terms.