B&Q and Screwfix owner expects profit to retreat  further from pandemic level    

Expectations of lower profit in the current financial year reflected pressures on consumer demand, higher energy and staff costs, and the hit to profit of accelerated expansion in France, company said

Kingfisher now has a total of 872 Screwfix stores in the UK and Ireland after opening 82 outlets, and plans a further 60 new stores in this financial year.

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix chains, forecast a further fall in profit this year after it plunged 20% last year from a pandemic-driven record high in the previous year.

Thierry Garnier, chief executive of the group, which also owns Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said expectations of lower profit in the current financial year reflected pressures on consumer demand, higher energy and staff costs, and the hit to profit of accelerated expansion in France.