Nearly seven per cent for Bunnings

The Australian DIY retail chain reported sales of AU$ 3.8 bn in the first half of its current financial year (July – December 2011), which means an increase of 6.8 per cent compared with the previous year’s figure. The plus came to 4.6 per cent like-for-like. The rate of growth in the second quarter amounted to 5.5 per cent, or 3.2 per cent like-for-like. The company brought seven new stores into operation in the second half of 2011 and there are 16 more locations under construction at the moment. Ten of these are scheduled for opening by the middle of the year. Bunnings had 199 stores in its warehouse format in operation at the end of the year, as well as 58 smaller outlets and 37 builders’ merchants.