Kingfisher sees quarterly profit jump

3rd Dec 2009 07:17

DIY group Kingfisher reported a 2.4% rise in sales and sharply higher profits in the third quarter thanks to the strong performance of its B&Q brand in the UK and Poland.Sales in the 13 weeks ended 31 October came to £2.69bn, up 5.6% on a reported basis and up 2.4% in constant currencies. Like-for-like sales have increased by 0.8%, while retail profit jumped by 23.4% to £277m.In the UK & Ireland, total sales were up 4.4% to £1.09bn and retail profit up 26.9%, as the business benefited from the trend for householders to improve their pad rather than moving on to a new one. French sales were slightly down, but retail profit was up 8.0% benefiting from further margin and cost initiatives.The repositioning plan of the Chinese operations continues on track, with losses more than halved in the quarter, while the Eastern European businesses delivered solid sales and profit growth.'Looking ahead, we continue to rely on our own initiatives to drive performance and deliver more value for our shareholders and continue to assume no early help from improved consumer demand,' said chief executive Ian Cheshire.