B&Q owner sees profits plummet and warns over rising costs

B&Q owner Kingfisher has revealed its yearly profit dropped by more than a third, as it cautioned over rising costs following government budgets in the UK and France.

The company generated a statutory pre-tax profit of £307m for the year to the end of January, a 35% decline on last year. Sales edged 0.2% higher in the UK and Ireland, compared with the prior year, but were down 1.7% across the group.

Kingfisher, which also owns Somerset-based Screwfix, cited a tougher market throughout the year with weaker consumer sentiment, particularly in France, affecting sales.

Government budgets raising costs for retailers and impacting consumers which would affect the year ahead, it said.

The company proposed a dividend for the year of 12.40p per share, made up of an interim dividend of 3.80p for the six months ended July 31, 2024, and a final dividend of 8.60p.

Last month, the Retail Jobs Alliance (RJA), which includes Kingfisher as well as brands such as Tesco and M&S, said retailers would face "a perfect storm" of additional costs from April.

The group also warned the hike to national insurance for employers, which comes into force next week, as well as rising business rates for larger high street outlets would result in the loss of 300,000 jobs by 2030.

Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S, said at the time that retail was "being raided like a piggy bank" and called for immediate action to stimulate growth. "The blunt truth is... the budget means UK retail will get smaller," he added.