B&Q’s parent company Kingfisher has reported a drop in its full-year sales and profits. The DIY retailer posted a 5.2 per cent drop in its adjusted pre-tax profit to £544m in the year to January 31, with group sales declining by 0.8 per cent to £11.5bn. Screwfix had fared considerably better across the year with sales rising by 9.4 per cent to £1.8bn.
The business said that first-quarter like-for-like sales had plummeted by 24.8 per cent due to it having closed stores due to coronavirus and only re-opening once equipped to manage social distancing with tightly controlled customer numbers, queuing systems and additional security staff across its stores.
“When the various lockdowns began, we rapidly transformed our operations to meet a sharp increase in eCommerce, while adapting our retail space and processes to ensure a safe reopening of stores,” said CEO Thierry Garnier.
Sales were down 1.5 per cent during the period to £11.5 billion.
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