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LONDON (Alliance News) - DIY retailer Kingfisher PLC Wednesday posted a drop in first-half profit on the back of weaker sales, while at the same time announcing that Chief Executive Officer Ian Cheshire will retire at the end of January 2015, to be succeeded by the CEO of Castorama France, Veronique Laury.
The home improvement retailer, and owner B&Q and Screwfix cite continued weakness in France and Poland and some broader challenges in the second quarter, as the reasons behind its pretax profit fall of 6.5% to GBP375 million for the 26 weeks to August 2, down from GBP401 million last year.
Revenue in the first half crept up by 0.9% on a reported basis to GBP5.77 billion from GBP5.72 billion a year earlier.
"This was a difficult first half with demand in our largest and most significant market, France, remaining particularly weak with a sharp market downturn experienced in our second quarter," CEO Cheshire said in a statement.
"Conditions in the UK were more favourable with better weather and encouraging signs in the smaller tradesman market. We were able to capitalise on the better conditions with Screwfix performing particularly well. B&Q UK & Ireland also delivered their best first-half sales growth in over a decade as the new team start to gain traction with its re-energising initiatives," he added.
In a separate statement Wednesday, Kingfisher said Cheshire will step down before the end of the current financial year, and retire from the board on January 31, 2015.
Cheshire will be succeeded by company veteran Laury, currently CEO of Kingfisher's Castorama France unit. Laury has been with Kingfisher for 11 years.
Kingfisher raises its interim dividend by 1% to 3.15 pence, and said the remainder of its capital return programme will resume as a share buyback.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; rowenaharrisdoughty@alliancenews.com; @rharrisdoughty
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