Owner of B&Q and Screwfix Unveils New Jobs & Higher Profit
Finally, some good news has been announced after all that doom and gloom that’s been going on recently.
It’s been announced that twelve hundred jobs across the UK this year, are being created thanks to the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, according to the BBC. Kingfisher said that because their businesses are growing, they would take on 230 staff members at 29 former Focus DIY stores, and 1,000 new jobs will be created at trade tools supplier, Screwfix.
The announcement was shortly made after Kingfisher reported that their half year sales are up by 3.8%, adjusted pre-tax profits up 24% to £439 million in the six months to the end of July.
This year alone Kingfisher said that they were investing £130 million in the UK, which is four times the amount of what they invested in the year before. £20 million of the amount will be spent on refurbishing the Focus DIY stores it bought earlier this year.
Screwfix has already seen 13 new outlets open this year and are expected to open another 40 by January next year.
Kingfisher Chief Executive Ian Cheshire said “Although the economic outlook is uncertain, this investment demonstrates our confidence in the UK’s longer-term growth prospects.”
The company has already seen a 6% rise in their profits within the UK and Irish Republic business, including a 25% jump at Screwfix despite a 1% fall in sales within their home market.
With Kingfisher’s business overseas, they were proving to be more robust with France’s profits up by a quarter and Germany, Turkey, Poland and Spain all putting in strong results.
Mr Cheshire carried on saying “With around two thirds of our profit coming from outside the UK, these results clearly show the value of geographic spread. Looking ahead, economic uncertainty throughout Europe is likely to impact consumer confidence, meaning conditions will remain challenging for retailers. However, our plans already assumed little help from our markets.”
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