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Kingfisher pulled its interim dividend, citing ongoing uncertainty owing to the pandemic, though the home improvement retailer reported increased first-half profit on cost cuts and stronger demand across its markets.
For the six months ended July, pre-tax profit rose 62.4% to £398m on-year, while sales fell 1.3% to £5.9m.
The adverse impact of COVID-19 in the first quarter was offset by a strong recovery in the second, the company said.
Kingfisher UK & Ireland sales increased by 3.7% to £2,753m, B&Q total sales increased by 3.7% to £1,839m, while Screwfix total sales increased by 3.7% to £914m.
The company did not declare an interim dividend for the half.
Looking ahead, the company said third-quarter trends to date, with like-for-like sales up 16.6%, but added that continued uncertainty and concerns over COVID and wider economic environment limit visibility.
The company forecast central costs within a range of be £58-to-60m fro the year, down from last year's £62m.
'While we are entering the second half against a favourable trading backdrop, continued uncertainty and concerns over COVID-19 and the wider economic environment limit our visibility. As such, we are not able to provide specific sales outlook commentary,' the company said.