B&Q and Screwfix-owner taps Covid sales bounce but shares fall on product supply shortages

Kingfisher, owner of B&Q and Screwfix, warned about supply shortages on a range of products, including timber and cement

Kingfisher posted sales of £7bn (€8.3bn) in the six months to the end of July, up 20% from a year earlier. File picture

A half-year profits surge at Kingfisher, the owner of the B&Q and Screwfix outlets in Britain and Ireland, continued to reflect a bounce-back from the Covid-19 crisis, but the shares fell sharply as the retail group warned about supply shortages on a range of products, including timber and cement. 

Kingfisher posted sales of £7bn (€8.3bn) in the six months to the end of July, up 20% from a year earlier, and reported retail profits across Europe in the period of £767m, of which £579m were generated in the UK and Ireland. Sales since the start of August had performed strongly despite unfavourable weather, the company added.